Daily Current Affairs- 8 August

Today's Current Affairs-8th August 2022

NATIONAL

Goa govt to implement 100% NEP in higher education from next academic year, says CM

• Goa Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant, said that the Goa government will implement a hundred percent of the syllabus in the higher education institutions along the lines of the National Education Policy from the next academic year.
• He further added that the state government is working on the skilling of manpower through agreements signed with various industry associations in the state.
• “We have started working on the implementation of the National Education Policy in the state. The implementation has already begun in the state-run and aided schools,” an official release quoted Mr Sawant as saying.

About Goa:

Founded: 30 May 1987

Capital: Panaji (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: Pramod Sawant

Governor: Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai

Uttar Pradesh Govt Plans to Double Farmers’ Income through ‘Panchamrut Yojana’

• Uttar Pradesh government announced that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s ‘Panchamrut Yojana’ will help to achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income through the introduction of cost-effective technical measures and the promotion of the co-cropping method.
• According to an official of the Sugarcane Development Department, the Government has already started taking steps under Panchamrut Yojana to achieve this goal, and would initially select a total of 2028 farmers in the state ahead of the autumn season, to develop model plots so that more and more innovative farmers felt encouraged to join the programme for their own benefit.
• As per the press note released by the UP government, the Panchamrut scheme seeks to reduce the production cost of sugarcane, as well as increase productivity and the fertility of the land, through five techniques, including an integrated trench method for sowing of sugarcane, ratoon management and trash mulching, drip irrigation and co-cropping.

About Uttar Pradesh:

Governor: Anandiben Patel

Capital: Lucknow (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath

ITU’s Regional Standardization Forum (RSF) for Asia and Oceania region to be inaugurated tomorrow by Shri Devusinh Chauhan

• Ministry of Communication is hosting the International Telecommunication Union’s Regional Standardization Forum (RSF) for Asia and Oceania region on 8 August 2022 in New Delhi. The theme of the Forum is “Regulatory and Policy aspects of Telecommunications/ICTs”. The Forum will be succeeded by four-day meeting of International Telecommunication Union-T Study Group 3 Regional Group Asia and Oceania (ITU-T SG3RG-AO) from 09th August 2022 to 12th August 2022.
• The Regional Standardization Forum will be inaugurated by Shri Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications.
• The Regional Standardization Forum is a platform for constructive exchange of ideas, discussing standardization topics including inter alia India’s experience in various sectors of technology like Sustainable Digital Transformation and the Role of ITU Standards, Harnessing Technologies for Digital and Financial Inclusion in Emerging Markets, evolving Data Value Chain and Digital Health.
• The panel discussion aims to provide an insight to for Asia and Oceania Region’s experience from policy and regulatory perspective under various sub-themes. Regional Standardization Forum will be addressed by 15 eminent speakers which includes representation from Academia, International Organizations, ICT Sector and Government of India.
• Participation in the Forum is open to ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates, and Academic Institutions and to any individual from a country which is a member of ITU who wishes to contribute to the ITU work. This includes individuals who are also members of international, regional, and national organizations.
• Over 250 delegates from 20 countries will participate in Regional Standardization Forum. The key takeaways from the deliberations in the RSF will be presented in succeeding meeting of the ITU-T Regional Group of Asia and Oceania for further work on Standardization in the emerging areas.

 SPORTS

Chess prodigyV Pranav becomes India’s 75th Grandmasterby winning a tournament in Romania

• The Chennai-based chess prodigy V Pranav became India’s 75th Grandmaster by winning a tournament in Romania. The Chennai-based Pranav won the Limpedea Open in Baia Mare, Romania to secure his third and final GM norm and attain the Grandmaster title.
• Pranav is the 27th Grandmaster from Tamil Nadu, a list that includes the legendary Viswanathan Anand and teen sensations D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa among others. A student of Velammal school here, he has won the state championship thrice and won the bronze medal in the world rapid event in 2021. A student of Velammal school in Chennai, he has won the state championship thrice and won the bronze medal in the world rapid event in 2021.

About Romania:

Capital: Bucharest

Currency: Romanian leu

President: Klaus Iohannis

India Chess Legend Viswanathan Anand Becomes FIDE Deputy President

• Indian chess legend, Viswanathan Anand was elected deputy president of the International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation (FIDE), the sport’s world governing body. While incumbent president Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected for a second term. Five-time world champion Anand was part of Dvorkovich’s team.
• The elections to the world chess body were held during the FIDE Congress which is being conducted here alongside the 44th Chess Olympiad. In the elections held here, Dvorkovich pipped Andrii Baryshpolets, a Ukrainian Grandmaster, by a landslide scoreline of 157-16 votes. A third candidate, French Bachar Kouatly, withdrew his candidature after giving his speech before voting began.

About World Chess Federation:

Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland

Founded: 20 July 1924, Paris, France

About FIDE:

Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland

President: Arkady Dvorkovich

Founded: 20 July 1924, Paris, France

Membership: 200 national associations

Nikhat Zareen wins maiden CWG gold to extend India's boxing juggernaut at Games

• Nikhat Zareen wins the Gold medal at Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. She defeated Mc Naul of Northern Islands in the finals, by 5-0 in women’s light-fly 48kg-50kg Boxing. With Nikhat Zareen’s gold medal at Commonwealth Games 2022, India gets a total of 17 golds and 48 total medals. Nikhat Zareen again proves her dominance in the world of boxing.
• Nikhat Zareen was born on 14th June 1996 in Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh. She was introduced to boxing by her father, Mohammad Jameel Ahmed. Zareen has been appointed as the staff officer in Bank of India, Zonal Office at AC Guards, Hyderabad. Her previous records are:

1. Gold at World Championship, Istanbul 2022.
2. Bronze at Asain Championship, Bangkok 2019.
3. Gold at Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament, Bulgaria 2022.

 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SSLV satellites no longer usable after being placed in wrong orbit, ISRO says

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday, August 7 said that the satellites onboard its first Small Satellite Launch Vehicle “are no longer usable” after the SSLV-D1 placed them in an elliptical orbit instead of a circular one. The space agency said that a committee would analyse today’s episode and make recommendations, and with the implementation of those recommendations “ISRO will come back soon with SSLV-D2”.
• “SSLV-D1 placed the satellites into 356 km x 76 km elliptical orbit instead of 356 km circular orbit. Satellites are no longer usable. Issue is reasonably identified. Failure of a logic to identify a sensor failure and go for a salvage action caused the deviation. A committee would analyse and recommend. With the implementation of the recommendations, ISRO will come back soon with SSLV-D2. A detailed statement by Chairman, ISRO will be uploaded soon (sic),” ISRO said in an update on its official Twitter handle.

About ISRO:

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded: 15 August 1969

Founder: Vikram Sarabhai

Jurisdiction: India

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Women In STEM: Kalaiselvi Appointed As First Ever Woman Director General Of CSIR

• Senior electrochemical scientist, Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has become the first woman director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Her appointment is for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Kalaiselvi succeeds Shekhar Mande, who superannuated in April.
• Kalaiselvi has risen through the ranks in CSIR and had broken the proverbial glass ceiling by becoming the first woman scientist to head the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) in February 2019.
• Kalaiselvi’s research work of more than 25 years is primarily focused on electrochemical power systems and in particular, the development of electrode materials, and electrochemical evaluation of in-house prepared electrode materials for their suitability in energy storage device assembly.
• Her research interests include lithium and beyond lithium batteries, supercapacitors and waste-to-wealth driven electrodes and electrolytes for energy storage and electrocatalytic applications. She is currently involved in the development of practically viable Sodium-ion/Lithium-sulfur batteries and supercapacitors.

About CSIR:

CSIR Founded: 26 September 1942

CSIR President: Prime Minister of India

Director General: Dr. Nallathamby Kalaiselvi

Unity Small Finance Bank appoints Inderjit Camotra as MD and CEO

• The Unity Small Finance Bank (SFB) Limited (Unity Bank) has appointed, Inderjit Camotra as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of the bank. A senior banker with over 25 years of experience across India, Camotra held various leadership positions at Standard Chartered Bank. In January 2022, the bank appointed Vinod Rai, the former CAG of India, as its Chairman.
• An IIT-Delhi graduate, Camotra pursued his MBA from Clarkson University in New York. Camotra was earlier an executive director with Centrum Financial Services Ltd, and has played a crucial role in the transitioning of the company into a bank.
• Unity Small Finance Bank is a new age, the digital-first bank which was recently elevated to a ‘Scheduled Bank’ and was included in the Second Schedule of the RBI Act. The bank is promoted by Centrum Financial Services Ltd and Resilient Innovations Pvt Ltd as a joint investors. The bank commenced its operation in November 2021.

About Unity Bank plc:

Headquarters: Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria

CEO: Oluwatomi Somefun (11 Aug 2015–)

Founded: 2006

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

RBI imposes monetary penalty of Rs 32 lakhs on Indian Bank

• The RBI has imposed a penalty of ₹82 lakh on Bengaluru-based Jupiter Capital Private Ltd, for breach of norms on submission of credit information.
• The central bank had conducted statutory inspections of the company with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
• These revealed that the non-bank lender had not complied with regulatory directions pertaining to submission of credit information to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits, submission of credit information data to Credit Information Companies, RBI said in a release today.
• The provisions fall under directions issued by RBI under ‘Non-Banking Financial Company Returns (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016’ and ‘Membership of Credit Information Companies (CICs)’, it added.

About Reserve Bank of India:

Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata

Founder: British Raj

Ownership: Ministry of Finance, Government of India

Governor: Shaktikanta Das

Public Sector Banks recover ₹6.4l crore NPAs, write-off loans since FY15

• Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have recovered non-performing loans and write-offs of ₹6.42 lakh crore since FY15 and sued 98.5% of willful defaulters, who are with the government. available data shows.
• From FY 2016 to FY 2011, the government has infused Rs 3.36 lakh crore in PSBs, while the banks themselves have raised an additional Rs 2.99 lakh crore from the markets.
• The provision coverage ratio of PSBs, a measure of health that captures the amount set aside to cover bad loans, has increased from 46% at the end of March 2022 to 86.9% at the end of March 2015.
• Since FY15, PSBs have recovered ₹ 5.17 lakh crore in non-performing assets (NPAs) and ₹ 1.24 lakh crore in written off accounts.
• The Gross NPA Ratio of PSBs declined from 14.6% on March 31, 2018 to 7.4% as on March 31, 2022, while the Net NPA Ratio declined from 8% to 2% during the period. Stressed assets have come down from 15.3% to 8.7%.