Today's Current Affairs-27th August 2022

INTERNATIONAL

South Korea breaks its own record for world's lowest fertility rate

• South Korea has once again shattered its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate. South Korean women were estimated, based on 2021 data, to have an average of just 0.81 children over their lifetimes, down from 0.84 a year earlier. The number of newborns declined in 2021 to 260,600, which equates to about 0.5% of the population.
• According to the United Nations’ global population projections and World Bank’s data, the report further stated that Korea is the world’s fastest-ageing nation among economies with a per capita GDP of at least $30,000. By 2100, its population will fall by 53% to 24 million, up from a 43% decline forecast in 2019. Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-Yong, who took office earlier this year, warned in April that the nation’s economy is on the verge of secular stagnation as the population ages and productivity slows.
• In fact, Korea is behind all OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries in fertility rates at 0.8 babies per woman. The report reveals that a reducing workforce is one of the major factors impacting its growth rate. The working-age population maxed out at 37.3 million in 2020 and is now expected to drop by almost half by 2070, according to Statistics Korea.

About South Korea:

Capital: Seoul

Currency: South Korean Won

Prime Minister: Han Duck-soo

President: Yoon Seok-youl

 NATIONAL

Historic Moment For Nagaland As It Gets Its 2nd Railway Station After 119 Years

• North-east state, Nagaland got its second railway station after a gap of more than 119 years with the commissioning of a new facility at Shokhuvi. Dimapur Railway Station, in the heart of the commercial hub of the state, was inaugurated in 1903. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio flagged off the Donyi Polo Express from Shokhuvi Railway Station during the day.
• The Donyi Polo Express ran daily between Guwahati in Assam and Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh. The train service has now been extended till Shokhuvi, a few kilometres from Dimapur. Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh will be directly connected by train service with the extension of Donyi Polo Express till Shokhuvi Railway Station.

About Nagaland:

Founded: 30 November 1963

Capital: Kohima (Executive Branch)

Capital: Kohima

Chief Minister: Neiphiu Rio

Governor: Jagdish Mukhi (additional charge)

PM to inaugurate pedestrian-only 'Atal Bridge' on Sabarmati river on August 27

• In Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially open the pedestrian-only “Atal Bridge” over the Sabarmati River. PM Modi is at his home state for a two-day visit. Later, PM Modi made a spur-of-the-moment trip to the bridge. According to a press release, the Atal Bridge connects the upcoming arts and culture centre on the eastern end of the riverfront with the flower garden on the western end. Atal Bridge is nearly 300 metres long and 14 metres wide in the middle.
• According to a press release, the Atal Bridge is made to be approached from both the lower and higher riverfront walks or promenades.
• PM Modi will also lay the cornerstone for more construction projects and dedicate the 470-acre Smriti Van Memorial in Bhuj.
• PM Modi will speak at Khadi Utsav on the riverbank while in the state for two days until inauguration day of the Atal Bridge.
• The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation constructed the 300-meter Atal Bridge and gave it the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s name.

About Gujarat:

Capital: Gandhinagar

Governor: Acharya Devvrat

Chief Minister: Bhupendrabhai Patel

 Taurus Sainik Aramgrah Inaugurated at Delhi Cantt

• The Taurus Sainik Aramgrah was inaugurated by Lt Gen Nav K Khanduri, AVSM, VSM, GOC-in-C, Western Command at Delhi Cantt. The Taurus Sainik Aramgrah is the first of its kind project which is constructed by the collaboration of the Indian Army and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The event was also facilitated by the officials of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
• The state art facility has 148 beds with an aesthetically designed waiting lounge, in-house dining, green area, and parking.
• The Taurus Sainik Aramgrah is constructed to ensure the comfortable stay of serving or retired soldiers and their families.

About Delhi:

Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal

Capital: New Delhi

Lieutenant Governor : Vinai Kumar Saxena 

About Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC):

Founder: E. Sreedharan

Founded: 2002

 SPORTS

Manipur's Linthoi Chanambam Scripts History, Clinches First-Ever Gold At World Cadet Judo Championships

• Indian judoka Linthoi Chanambam scripted history by winning India’s first-ever medal in Judo World Championships with a gold in the Women’s 57kg category at the World Judo Cadet (U18) Championships. The 15-year-old judoka outclassed Brazil’s Bianca Reis in the 57-kg category final.
• Linthoi Chanambam became the first Indian judoka to win a medal at any age-group category of the World Championships.
• The 15-year-old has been one of the best judokas from India in the past couple of years and is also part of the Indian government’s TOPS programme. She came into the spotlight with a gold medal at the Sub-Junior National Judo Championships in 2017 and since then she has been training at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sports judo programme.
• Before Friday’s historic triumph, Chanambam won the gold medal at National Cadet Judo Championship in 2021 and followed it up with a bronze in the Asia-Oceania Cadet Judo Championship in Beirut, Lebanon.

About Manipur:

Capital: Imphal (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: N. Biren Singh

Governor: La. Ganesan

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

AirAsia becomes first airline to use revolutionary AI-powered CAE Rise Training System

• AirAsia India becomes the first airline to use CAE’s artificial intelligence-powered training system to train the airline’s pilots. CAE is the leading provider of pilot training solutions that are based on simultaneous technology. The CAE headquarters are in Canada. The training system adopted by AirAsia is called the CAE Rise, which provides real-time data during pilot training sessions and analyses them to deliver higher quality training. CAE Rise also enables the translation of simulator training data into valuable insights for instructors.
• AirAsia India Private Limited is a subsidiary of Tata sons Private Limited and its headquarters are situated in Bengaluru. The commercial operations of AirAsia commenced on 12th June 2014, and it flies over 50 direct and 100 connecting routes across India. The airline offers one of the best and finest facilities to their passengers.

About AirAsia:

Headquarters: Sepang, Malaysia

CEO: Tony Fernandes (Dec 2001–)

Parent organization: Tune Group

Founders: Tony Fernandes, DRB-HICOM

Google announces cyber security upskilling programme for 100,000 developers in India

• IT giants, Google has unveiled a programme to upskill 100,000 Indian developers and researchers in cyber security. The campaign will be part of the company’s Cyber Security Roadshow, which will cover multiple cities across India and offer tools, tutorials, and mentorship on security practices for building consumer apps, as well as enterprise programmes.
• The upskilling programme will cover two major programme areas, Android and Google Cloud, and will be aimed at upskilling 100,000 lakh engineers in India. The Google Cloud upskilling programme will focus on commercial developers and security administrators, while the Android upskilling programme will serve developers creating apps for consumer use. Google’s move comes as industry players have called attention to the need for better upskilling requirements among developers in the country.

About Google:

Founded: 1998

Founders: Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Headquarters: Mountain View, California, US

CEO: Sundar Pichai

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Justice UU Lalit sworn in as 49th Chief Justice of India

• Justice Uday Umesh Lalit took oath as the 49th Chief Justice of India. Newly elected President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers were present at the ceremony. Justice Lalit’s predecessor, Justice NV Ramana, was also present at the oath-taking ceremony.
• Uday Umesh Lalit (born 9 November 1957) is the 49th and current Chief Justice of India. Previously, he has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Prior to his elevation as a judge, he practised as a senior counsel at the Supreme Court. Justice Lalit is one of the six senior counsels who have been directly elevated to the Supreme Court. He will retire on 8 November 2022 after assuming the office of Chief Justice of India for a period of seventy-four days as the 49th chief justice.
• Uday Umesh Lalit is a law graduate from Government Law College, Mumbai. He enrolled with Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa as an advocate in June 1983. He started his practice with advocate M.A. Rane, who was considered as a proponent of the radical humanist school of thought who believed that social work was as important as building a solid legal practice. On 3 May 1992, Lalit qualified and was registered as an Advocate-on-Record at the Supreme Court. On 29 April 2004, Lalit was designated as a senior advocate of the Supreme Court.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

PGA Labs report: SBI Topped in Market Share of Debit cards

• The State Bank Of India (SBI) , the largest bank in the nation, maintained its leadership position in the debit card market and HDFC Bank in the credit card market as of June 2022, according to the most recent data, despite a 6% decline in year-over-year growth. According to data compiled by PGA Labs, public sector banks hold a larger percentage of the debit card market than private banks, whereas reverze in the Credit card market.. Bank of Baroda came in second with an 8% market share, followed by Bank of India, Canara Bank Union Bank, and Punjab National Bank, each with 5%.
• PSU banks dominate the debit card market, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank saw the highest year-over-year growth rates in the sector, at 19% and 18%, respectively.
• HDFC Bank with a market share of 22%, also led the way in the credit cards category, followed by State Bank Of India (SBI) (18%), ICICI Bank (17%), Axis Bank (12%), RBL Bank (5%), and Kotak Mahindra Bank (5%).
• HDFC Bank,the largest card issuer in the nation, added 386,487 cards in June. Kotak Mahindra Bank came in second with 262,942 cards, followed by Axis Bank with 228,933 cards, ICICI Bank with 190,490 cards, and State Bank Of India (SBI) Card with State Bank Of India (SBI) Card (166,976).

About SBI:

Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded: 1 July 1955

About HDFC Bank:

CEO: Sashidhar Jagdishan (27 Oct 2020–)

Owner: Housing Development Finance Corporation

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded: August 1994, Mumbai

 Tata Neu, HDFC Bank join hands to create co-branded credit cards

• HDFC Bank and Tata Neu, the “super app” of the Tata Group, announced their collaboration to introduce co-branded credit cards. Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank Credit Card and Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card are the two varieties of the card that will be available. The benefits already provided to Tata Neu customers on all of their transactions would be increased by the cards.
• The cards will increase the benefits already offered to Tata Neu customers on all of their purchases.
• Customers can now earn a total of 7% or 10% of the amount they spend on the Tata Neu app when combined with the existing Tata Neu advantages of 5% NeuCoins, depending on the card version.
• Customers of Tata Neu can access the credit card’s essential information and apply for it using the Tata Neu app.
• Customers can earn 2% NeuCoins with the Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank Credit Card and 5% NeuCoins with the Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card on all in-person and online transactions made at partner Tata brands.

About HDFC Bank:

CEO: Sashidhar Jagdishan (27 Oct 2020–)

Owner: Housing Development Finance Corporation

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded: August 1994, Mumbai

About TATA group:

Owner: Tata Sons

Founder: Jamsetji Tata

Founded: 1868, Mumbai

Headquarters: Mumbai