DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : Aug 23 & 24, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (Aug 23 & 24 2020) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

Also, Don’t forget to attend the Daily Current Affairs Quiz : Aug 23 & 24, 2020 now @ our Bankersdaily Tests.

Current Affairs Quiz – Aug 23 & 24, 2020

Important Days

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 Day is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism-23 August:

It is also known as Black Ribbon Day. 23 August was chosen to coincide with the date of the signing of the Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact. It is a day of remembrance for victims of totalitarian regimes, specifically Stalinism, Communism, Nazism and Fascism.

National News

MEA in partnership with Foreign Ministry of Thailand organize 6th Round Table of AINTT:

Theme of the 2-day Round Table ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks which was conducted through video conferencing was ‘ASEAN-India: Strengthening Partnership in the Post COVID Era’. AINTT was established in the 7th ASEAN-India Summit in Thailand in 2009. Current Chairmanship is holding by Vietnam.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):

Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia
Founded: 8 August 1967
Secretary General of ASEAN: Lim Jock Hoi
Chairman: Nguyen Xuan Phuc

National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020:

National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020 released by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) & National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR) predicts 9 lakh cases of cancer in India in 2020 and is likely to rise to 15.7 lakh by 2025.

International News

India, Israel sign cultural agreement to further boost people-to-people ties:

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and India’s Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla signed the agreement. Programme of cooperation between the 2 countries for the years 2020-23 is based on the cultural agreement signed between them on 18 May 1993.

Banking and Economy

Unitus Ventures secures investment of Rs 75 crore from SIDBI bank:

Unitus Ventures has secured an investment of Rs 75 crore (USD 10 million) under SIDBI’s Fund of Funds for Start-ups initiative. Funds received from SIDBI will strengthen the deployment of Unitus’ second fund that was launched in 2018.

Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and SBI General Insurance Co Ltd Signed MoU to Sell General Insurance Products:

Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) and SBI General Insurance Co Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Dharwad, Karnataka to sell general insurance products through the branches of KVGB.

ICICI Lombard and Bharti AXA ink agreement to combine their non-life insurance business:

ICICI Lombard and Bharti AXA is to combine their non-life insurance business portfolio. The proposed transaction will make it as third largest among non-life insurers, take it total Rs 164.47 billion annual premium with a combined market share 7%.

ESIC extends unemployment benefit scheme ‘Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna’ up to June 30, 2021:

Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana is being implemented by Employee State Insurance Corporation, approved under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948. The scheme provides 25% of average per day earning in the previous four contribution periods.

Axis Bank launches hiring initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’:

Axis Bank has launched an initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’. The initiative aims to attract skilled talent that can work with the bank remotely, from anywhere in the country.
This hiring model comprises two working patterns. One is the full-time permanent job and the second is based on the duration of a project and is temporary in nature.

SBI Partners with AddaCorner to Launch ‘Online Home Carnival’:

State Bank of India (SBI) has partnered with India’s First Real-Time Group Negotiation E-Platform, AddaCorner to launch ‘Online Home Carnival’, which will help in boosting the Real Estate market in Bangalore. Along with the launch of ‘Online Home Carnival’, AddaCorner was also launched.

Acquisitions and Mergers

Adani Group to acquire 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport:

Gautam Adani-led Adani Group is set to acquire a 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) which operates the country’s second-largest airport, with the current operator settling its disputes with its minority partner and exiting the venture.

Science and Technology

DRDO lab develops ‘NOTESCLEAN’ sanitization device:

Hyderabad based, DRDO lab has developed ‘NOTESCLEAN’ sanitization device, where one has to place the loose currency notes at the input slot of the device. It picks the notes one by one and makes them pass through a series of UVC lamps for complete disinfection.

China launches optical remote-sensing satellite Gaofen-9 05:

China has successfully launched a new optical remote-sensing satellite named “Gaofen-9 05” from its Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.
The satellite was sent into orbit by a Long March-2D carrier rocket. Along with it, another satellite named Tiantuo-5 and one multifunctional test satellite was also launched by the rocket.

IIT Madras Researchers discover new component to effectively split Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen using Solar Power:

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Researchers have discovered a new material to effectively split Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen using Solar Power.
This research is expected to create a renewed interest in solar fuels domain, which can potentially bring the conversion and storage part in a single system, thereby reducing the cost per kWh of solar energy.

Appointments

Satpal Singh Satti appointed as chairman of 6th State Finance Commission of Himachal Pradesh:

Former President of BJP’s Himachal Pradesh unit, Satpal Singh Satti is appointed as Chairman of 6^th State Finance Commission. The committee will review financial position of panchayats and municipalities and devolution of resources to these institutions.

Ashwani Bhatia appointed as managing director of State Bank of India:

Ashwani Bhatia has been appointed as the managing director up to the date of his superannuation that is May 31, 2022, the order stated. Bhatia will be appointed in place of P K Gupta who superannuated on March 31.
Bhatia is currently working as the managing director and chief executive officer at SBI Mutual Fund.

Awards and Recognitions

Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas & Lisa Sthalekar inducted into ICC Hall of Fame:

Jacques Kallis is one of South Africa’s highest run-getter in Tests & ODIs. He is also a great all-rounder. Lisa Sthalekar is a former Australian cricketer and became a World Cup winner in 2005 and 2013. Zaheer Abbas is the only Asian batsman to hit 100 first-class centuries.

Anand Mahindra, Shantanu Narayen to receive 2020 Leadership Awards from USISPF:

US-based India-centric business advocacy group to honour Mahindra group Chairman Anand Mahindra and Adobe Chairman & CEO Shantanu Narayen with its 2020 Leadership Awards in recognition of their exemplary vision towards promoting US-India bilateral ties.

Abhijit Paul’s ‘Am I’ wins first prize in Online Patriotic Short Film Contest:

A Short film titled ‘Am I?’ directed by Abhijit Paul won the first prize and a cash award of one lakh rupees in the Online Patriotic Short Film Contest organized by the Ministry Of Information and Broadcasting along with National Film Development Corporation, NFDC.

Books and Author

A Book titled “Who painted my lust red?” authored by Sree Iyer launched:

A book titled “Who painted my lust red?” that has been authored by Sree Iyer has been launched. This is the second book in this series of Sree Iyer’s Money Trilogy series. The first book was “Who painted my money white?”.

Sports News

Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain to win UEFA Champions League:

German giants Bayern Munich have won the UEFA Champions League for the sixth time in the club’s history after beating French side Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the final in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon. Paris Saint-Germain reached finals for the first time.

First female golfer from Germany Sophia Popov wins Women’s British Open:

Sophia Popov became the first female golfer from Germany to capture a major title when she won the Women’s British Open by two strokes. Ranked No. 304, Popov had never won a senior professional event. This was just Popov’s fourth appearance at a major.