Daily Current Affairs- 18 August

Today's Current Affairs-18th August 2022

INTERNATIONAL

India gifts aircraft to Sri Lanka, day before China ship docks

• India on August 15 gifted a Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Sri Lanka which will enable the island nation to tackle multiple challenges like human and drug trafficking, smuggling and other organised forms of crime in its coastal waters more effectively. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was present at the impressive handover ceremony which took place on a day when India celebrated its 76th Independence Day and a day before a high-tech Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship docks at the island nation’s strategic Hambantota port.
• Vice Chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral S.N. Ghormade, who is on a two-day visit to the country, accompanied by Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Gopal Baglay, handed over the aircraft to the Sri Lanka Navy at the Sri Lanka Air Force base in Katunayake, adjoining the Colombo international airport.

About Sri Lanka:

President: Ranil Wickremesinghe 

Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

Prime Minister: Dinesh Gunawardena

Currency: Sri Lankan rupee

 NATIONAL

Arunachal Govt Launches Ambitious 'Medicine from the Sky' Project

• ‘Medicine from the sky’ pilot project drone service launched by the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu. ‘Medicine from the sky’ is also a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The first successful flight was conducted from Seppa to Chaoyang Tajo in the East Kameng district. This pilot project was a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to introduce new technologies in the health care sector of India.
• He also mentioned in the Bharat Drone Mahotsav, that India has the potential of becoming the world’s drone hub. This drone service or the first pilot project aims to provide medicine and essential services to people in need with the help of drones. This will also help to reach difficult terrains and areas.
• Arunachal Pradesh is a Northeastern date of India and it has recognized the power of drones and used it uniquely. The introduction of the first piolet project ‘Medicine from the sky’ will help thousands of people.

About Arunachal Pradesh:

Capital: Itanagar (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: Pema Khandu

Governor: B. D. Mishra

F-INSAS, Nipun among 'Made in India' defence systems handed over to Indian Army by Rajnath Singh

• Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh handed over to the Indian Army the much-awaited Future Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) at the unveiling ceremony of various defence and strategic systems held in Delhi. The full gear of the F-INSAS includes an AK-203 assault rifle, which is a Russian-origin gas-operated, magazine-fed, select-fire assault rifle.
• The units of the rifle, which has a range of 300 metres, will be manufactured by an India-Russia joint venture.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conceptualised the F-INSAS project in the early 2000s in line with the targets of the Army’s Infantry Soldier Modernisation Programme to optimise the soldier’s performance across the full spectrum and duration of a military operation.

About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):

Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi

Founded: 1958

Jurisdiction: India

Aircraft designed: Avatar, DRDO Lakshya, DRDO Nishant

PM Modi gives 5 pledges 'Panch Prans' to fulfil dreams of country in next 25 years

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the nation from the Red Fort for the ninth time in a row on August 15, 2022. PM Modi, in his 88-minute speech, outlined his “Panch Pran Targets” (Five Resolves) to make India a developed country by the time it celebrates its 100th Independence Day in 25 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the Panch Pran Goal.
• Cleanliness campaigns, vaccinations, electrical connections, the elimination of open defecation, and the usage of solar energy are all examples of established India standards according to the Panch Pran.

PM Modi requested every individual to foloow Panch Pran. The Panch Pran are as follows:

1. Advance with greater conviction and the determination of a developed India
2. Get rid of any signs of slavery
3. Take pride in India’s history.
4. the power of unity
5. duties of citizens, such as those of the PM and CMs.

About Prime Minister's Office:

Headquarters: Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India

Formed: 1947; 75 years ago (As Prime Minister's Secretariat); 1977; 45 years ago (As Prime Minister's Office)

Officeholders: C. Sridhar (Joint secretary to the Government of India)

SPORTS

Ireland all-rounder Kevin O'Brien announces retirement from international cricket

• Ireland’s all-rounder Kevin O’Brien has announced his retirement from international cricket after falling out of contention for this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. O’Brien played three Tests, 153 one-day internationals and 110 T20 internationals during a 16-year international career and had spells with a number of English county clubs and T20 franchise sides around the world.
• The 38-year-old famously blasted the Irish to victory over England in a 2011 World Cup group match in India with a 50-ball century—still the tournament’s quickest. The Dubliner scored 9,048 runs in total for Ireland, including the country’s first Test hundred, a second-innings knock of 118 against Pakistan in 2018, and took 276 wickets.

About Ireland:

Capital: Dublin

Currency: Euro

President: Michael D. Higgins

Prime Minister: Micheál Martin

 OBITUARY

Former BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary passed away at the age of 58 due to heart attack

• Amitabh Chaudhary the former BCCI acting secretary and president of Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) has passed away. He served as acting secretary of the BCCI until 2019. He entered cricket administration in 2004 and served as the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) president for over a decade.
• Choudhary was first appointed as team manager of the Indian team in 2005 on their tour of Zimbabwe, remembered for the acrimony between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell.
• Choudhary also served as BCCI’s joint-secretary from 2013 to 2015 during Anurag Thakur’s reign as BCCI president.
• He was a retired senior IPS officer, who rose to the rank of IGP with the Jharkhand Police and was the chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission. He played a crucial role in developing infrastructure for Jharkhand cricket.

About BCCI:

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded: December 1928

President: Sourav Ganguly

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Centre appoints Rajkiran Rai as NaBFID managing director for nearly 5 years

• The Centre and the board of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has appointed Rajkiran Rai G as its managing director (MD) for the next five years. The board of NaBFID approved Rai’s appointment on July 30 based on clearance by the RBI, centre and the Development finance institutions (DFI) nomination and remuneration committee. He took charge as the DFI’s MD on August 8, and will hold the top post till May 18, 2027, according to details of the appointment.
• Last year in October 2021, the Centre had appointed K V Kamath as chairperson of NaBFID. Subsequently, government nominees Pankaj Jain and Sumita Dawra were appointed directors to the board of DFI. The government has already infused Rs 20,000 crore into NaBFID to help the DFI start its operations to catalyse investment in the infrastructure sector.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

Centre Approves Rs 50,000 Crore Under ECLGS To Hospitality Sector

• The Union Cabinet approved the enhancement in the limit of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors. ECLGS is a continuing scheme and the additional amount of Rs. 50,000 crore would be made applicable to enterprises in hospitality and related sectors till validity of the scheme in March 31 next year.
• The enhancement is expected to provide much-needed relief to enterprises in these sectors by incentivizing lending institutions to provide additional credit of up to Rs 50,000 crore at low cost, enabling these business enterprises to meet their operational liabilities and continue their businesses. Loans of about Rs. 3.67 Lakh crore have been sanctioned under ECLGS till August 5.

Now, contributions to NPS, Atal Pension Yojana can be remitted via UPI

• Subscribers of National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) can now contribute to their accounts through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the country’s instant real-time payment system. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has launched a UPI handle for depositing contributions through D-Remit for the benefit of subscribers.
• Currently, the contributions were carried out through net banking account by using IMPS/NEFT/RTGS. The PFRDA-administered two schemes NPS and APY are targeted towards organised and unorganised sector employees, respectively. Introduced in December 2003, it is mandatory for central government employees (except armed forces) who joined service from January 1, 2004, to subscribe to NPS. In May 2009, it was extended to private and unorganised sector on voluntary basis.

About National Pension System:

Founded: 2014; 8 years ago

Founder: Government of India

Headquarters: New Delhi, India

Key people: Munish Malik (CEO)

About PFRDA:

Founded: 23 August 2003

Sector: Pension

Headquarters: New Delhi

Agency executive: Supratim Bandyopadhyay (Chairperson)

SBI launches its first dedicated branch for start-ups in Bengaluru

• The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its first branch dedicated to start-ups in Koramangala, Bengaluru. SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara launched the branch in Koramangala near HSR Layout and Indiranagar which are the biggest start-up hubs in the city. After Bengaluru, the next branch will be opened in Gurgaon and the third one will be in Hyderabad. These branches would support the needs of the entire start-up ecosystem.
• The branch will provide services ranging from the stage of formation of start-ups to Initial Public Offerings and Follow-on Public Offerings.
• Apart from providing funding and regular banking service to start-ups, SBI will also support such players through associated services such as investment banking, treasury operations, advisory and other ancillary financial services through its subsidiaries.

About Karnataka:

Chief Minister: Basavaraj Bommai 

Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot

Capital: Bengaluru (Executive Branch)

About State Bank of India (SBI):

Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded: 1 July 1955

Parent organization: Government of India