Current Affairs 26 August 2023

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 26 August 2023, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2023 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

DAC Approves Proposals worth Rs 7,800 cr to Enhance Operational Capabilities of Indian Armed ForcesOn 24th August 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting chaired by the Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals worth around Rs 7,800 crore, to enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.
Details of DAC’s Approvals:
i.To enhance the efficiency of the Indian Air Force, DAC granted AoN for the procurement and installation of an Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite on Mi-17 V5 Military/Transport Helicopters, which will enhance better survivability of Helicopters.

• The procurements will be made under the Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured) category.
• The EW Suite will be procured from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), under the Ministry of Defence(MoD).

ii.The DAC has also granted AoN for procurement of a Ground-Based Autonomous System for mechanised infantry and armoured regiments.

• This will enable operations like unmanned surveillance, logistic delivery of ammunition, fuel & spares, and casualty evacuation on the battle field.

iii.DAC has also granted AoN for the procurement of weapons to enhance the operational capabilities of the MH-60R multi-mission helicopters in service with the Indian Navy.
iv.The DAC approved the procurement of a 7.62×51 millimeters (mm) Light Machine Gun (LMG) and Bridge Laying Tank (BLT).

• The induction of LMG will enhance the fighting capabilities of infantry forces, and the induction of BLT will result in faster movement of Mechanised Forces.

v.DAC has also approved the AoN for procurement of Ruggedised Laptops and Tablets for the Indian Army under Project Shakti.
Note: All these procurements will be sourced from Indigenous vendors only.

NRL and IWAI signs MoU for export of Petroleum Cargo via NW 2 & IBPRi.On August 25, 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Guwahati, Assam to use National Waterways (NW)-2 (Brahmaputra) and Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) for export of petroleum products to Bangladesh and other south East Asian countries.
ii.The signing of the MoU was conducted by A Selva Kumar, Director of IWAI, and Subrata Das, Chief General Manager (Marketing) of NRL in the presense of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW).
iii.Under this, NRL will export approximately 10,000 metric tons of petroleum and petrochemical products per month through NW – 2 and IBPR from IWAI jetty at the Assam’s Jogighopa Multi-Modal terminal (MMT) Park.
About Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI):
IWAI is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India.
Chairman– Sanjay Bandopadhyaya
Headquarters– Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW)
Establishment– 1986
>> Read Full News

Philippine Coast Guard’s official visit to India: 20-24 August 2023A 5 member delegation of the Philippine Coast Guard(PCG) led by Admiral Artemio Manalo Abu, Commandant of PCG was on an official tour to India from 20th to 24th August 2023.

• On 21st August 2023, the delegates visited Goa and witnessed the operation capabilities of the Indian Coastal Guard (ICG) Ships and aircraft under “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
• On 22nd August 2023, The Indian Coastal Guard (ICG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the PCG on enhanced maritime cooperation.
• On 23rd August 2023, Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff(CNS), Indian Navy, and Admiral Artemio Manalo Abu, Commandant of PCG signed the Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) for the exchange of White Shipping Information

About the Philippines: 
The Philippines is officially known as the Republic of the Philippines.
President– Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Capital– Manila
Currency– Philippine Peso
>> Read Full News

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India, Japan, US, Australia hold 27th Malabar Naval Exercise off Australian Coasti.The 27th edition of naval Exercise MALABAR 2023 was held at East Coast of Australia off Sydney, between the Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from August 11-21, 2023.
ii.The exercise was hosted by RAN and held in Australia for the first time.
iii.Concurrently, from August 22-24, 2023, 5th edition of the biennial AUSINDEX Maritime Exercise held between the navies of India and Australia off the coast of Sydney.
About Australia:
Capital– Canberra
Currency– Australian Dollar
Prime Minister– Anthony Albanese
>> Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

SEBI Issues Disclosure Norms for FPIs Holding High Indian Equity AUMOn August 24, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandated additional disclosures from Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) that have concentrated holding in a single company or a group firm w.e.f. November 1, 2023.

• Such FPIs will be required to identify all entities with any ownership, economic interest and control rights.

Key Points:
i.FPIs with over 50% of Indian equity Assets Under Management (AUM) in a single corporate group get 10 days to reduce holdings, followed by further ownership disclosures.
ii.FPIs with equity AUM exceeding Rs 25,000 crore have 90 days to reduce holdings.

• Accounts of all such FPIs will be blocked for further equity purchases until the holding is brought below Rs 25,000 crore.

iii.If investment remains high after deadlines, 30 days for disclosures, then FPI registration invalid.
iv.Invalid registration leads to securities liquidation and market exit within 180 days from invalidation.
Click Here for Official Circular
This information by SEBI was provided in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 read with Regulations3(2), 22(1), 22 (6), 22 (7)and 44 of SEBI(FPI) Regulations,2019,and Sub-rule 14 (i) of  Rule 9 of  the   Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI):
Chairperson -Madhabi Puri Buch
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment – 12 April 1992

RBI approves the Voluntary amalgamation of Twin Cities Co-operative Urban Bank with Kranti Co-operative Urban Bank The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) sanctioned the Scheme of Voluntary Amalgamation of Hyderabad (Telangana) based Twin Cities Co-operative Urban Bank Limited with Hyderabad (Telangana) based Kranti Co-operative Urban Bank Limited. 

• RBI has the authority to approve the voluntary amalgamation of Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) based on its discretion.
• This authority is granted under Sub-Section (4) of Section 44A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• These sections were modified through an amendment introduced by the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act No. 39 of 2020).

After Amalgamation:
i.The Scheme of Amalgamation came into force from 23rd August, 2023.
ii.The branch of Twin Cities Co-operative Urban Bank will function as a branch of Kranti Co-operative Urban Bank.
About Amalgamation guidelines:
i.The Amalgamation was based on comprehensive framework notification of RBI released in 2021, named Master Direction – Amalgamation of Urban Cooperative Banks, Directions, 2020.
ii.As per the framework in 2021, RBI may consider proposals for merger or amalgamation of urban cooperative banks (UCBs) under three circumstances.
Three Circumstances for amalgamation:
i.Positive net worth of amalgamated bank; amalgamating bank assures to protect entire deposits of the amalgamated bank.
ii.Negative net worth of amalgamated bank; the amalgamating bank on its own assures to protect deposits of all the depositors of the amalgamated bank.
iii.Negative net worth of amalgamated bank; amalgamating bank ensures deposit protection with state government’s upfront financial support in merger process.
Points to be noted:-
The Banking Regulation Amendment Bill, 2020 will not apply to:
a) Primary agricultural credit societies.
b) Cooperative societies whose primary focus is long-term financing for agricultural development.
Furthermore, these two types of societies must not:
a) Use the terms ‘bank,’ ‘banker,’ or ‘banking’ in their name or business.
b) Function as entities that clear cheques.

Muthoot Fincorp Launches “Muthoot FinCorp ONE”, an All-In-One Financial Platform
Muthoot Fincorp Limited(MFL), a leading Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, launched “Muthoot FinCorp ONE”, an innovative all-in-one digital financial platform.

• The platform will provide a range of services including Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Gold loans along with investment products like Digital Gold and Non-Convertible Debentures(NCDs).
• The platform introduced its gold loans in May 2023 and aims to add insurance, personal loans, two-wheeler loans, housing loans, and money transfer services within the next 6 months.

Muthoot Fincorp is a flagship company of Muthoot Pappachan Group (also known as Muthoot Blue).  Chief Executive Officer of MFL- Shaji Varghese. 

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Quinag Exits Manappuram Finance; Sold Entire Stake For Rs 1,177 Cr
Quinag Acquisition (FPI) Ltd, a foreign fund house, has offloaded its entire stake, 8,37,85,880 shares amounting to a 9.90% stake, in Manappuram Finance Limited, a Kerala based Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), for Rs 1,177 crore through an open market transaction.

• The shares were offloaded at an average price of Rs 140.50 apiece.

Bofa Securities Europe SA(“BofASE”),a subsidiary of Bank of America has acquired 62.60 lakh shares and Chartered Finance Management Limited (CFM) and Leasi NG has acquired 50 lakh shares of Manappuram Finance.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS     

Highlights of 69th National Film Award 2023On 24th August 2023, the winners of the 69th National Film Awards 2023 were announced by the jury panel during the event held at the National Media Centre, New Delhi, Delhi. Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, was presented with the list of the winners.

• 69th National Film Awards honoured the best films of 2021 in Indian cinema.
• The awards are categorised into five categories. They are Dadasaheb Phalke Award(Lifetime Achievement Award), Feature films, Non Features films, Best writing on cinema and Most film friendly state.

Highlights:
i.RRR(Rise Roar Revolt), a Telugu film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, has won the most number of awards i.e. 6 at the 69th National Film Awards.

• The Hindi movie ‘Gangubai’ Kathiawadi and Sardar Udham received five awards each.

ii.Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, directed by R Madhavan won the Best Feature Film award.

• The movie is based on the life story of Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) scientist Nambi Narayanan.

iii.Ek Tha Gaon directed by Srishti Lakhera won the Best Non-Feature Film award. Ek Tha Gaon is a documentary film on a Ghost Village made in Garhwali and Hindi language.

Best Actor and Actress:
i.Telugu Actor Allu Arjun won the Best Actor award for the film Pushpa (The Rise Part I). With this, he became the first Telugu actor to win the National Award under the Best Actor category.

ii.Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon were awarded the Best Actress for their performances in (Hindi movie) Gangubai Kathiawadi and Mimi, respectively.
>> Read Full News   

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Infosys Ropes in Tennis Icon Rafael Nadal as Brand Ambassador for Digital Innovation Infosys Limited, an Indian multinational information technology (IT) company, has signed a 3 years partnership with Spanish Tennis Icon Rafael Nadal appointing him as the ambassador for its brand and Infosys’ Digital Innovation.

• This marks Nadal‘s first-ever collaboration with a digital services company.

Infosys’s association with Tennis:
i.Infosys is the digital innovation partner for the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour, Roland-Garros, Australian Open, and The International Tennis Hall of Fame.

• It helped to reimagine the tennis ecosystem for a billion fans globally leveraging AI, cloud, data analytics and digital experiences.

ii.Infosys introduced video and statistics analysis tools for players and coaches to modernise training, and it enhanced match analysis with Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted journalism platforms for broadcasters to broadcast interesting content.
iii.Infosys innovations for the tennis ecosystem include explorations in the digital universe including mixed reality, social virtual reality (VR) and 3 3-dimensional art museums to expand the history, and heritage of tennis to fans globally.
iv.It recently launched the first-of-its-kind sustainable technology tool ‘Carbon Tracker’, which allows ATP players to track and reduce their emissions while on tour.
About Rafael Nadal:
i.He has won 22 Grand Slams in his career, the second most in the world after Novak Djokovic (23 Grand Slams).The titles includes 14 French Open titles 4 US open 2 Wimbledon, 2 Australian Open
ii.He won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a gold medal in doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Infosys Signs Women’s Tennis World No. 1 Iga Świątek as Brand Ambassador
Infosys Limited also signed a multi-year partnership with women’s tennis World No. 1 Iga Świątek of Poland, appointing her as the ambassador to promote digital innovation and inspire women worldwide.
ii.Infosys and Świątek will also work together to develop programmes that would empower young women all across the world by assisting them in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
About Iga Świątek:
The 22-year-old Iga Świątek, a four-time Grand Slam Champion, has been ranked World No. 1 in the Women’s Tennis Association(WTA ranking) since April 2022, holding the position for a record 70 consecutive weeks.She won the French Open in 2020, 2022, and 2023 and the US Open in 2022.
About Infosys:
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer: Salil Parekh
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
Established – 1981          

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian Navy Successfully Undertook the Maiden Test Drop of SARK 
The Indian Navy successfully undertook the maiden test drop of the Search and Rescue Kit (SARK) from the Boeing P-8I long-range patrol aircraft on 15th August 2023(77th Independence Day of India). The Test flight was conducted by the Indian Navy’s INS(Indian Navy Ship) Hansa-based Indian Naval Air Squadrons (INAS) 316 squadron.

• SARK is an indigenous (Made in India) kit that can be dropped from aircraft with the help of parachutes to carry out rescue missions in the deep sea.
• It was developed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment(ADRDE), a unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Agra, Uttar Pradesh(UP).
• This will enable the Indian Navy to undertake search and rescue operations from long ranges off the coast and strengthen India’s position as a Preferred Security Partner in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR).

ENVIRONMENT

State of India’s Birds 2023: 60% of bird species in India declined over 30 yrsAccording to the report titled “State of India’s Birds 2023: Range, Trends and Conservation Status”, out of the 338 bird species studied in India, 60% of bird species have declined over the past 30 years. 

• The 2023 report is the 2nd iteration of the State of India’s Birds report.
• The report was produced as a partnership between 13 organisations which includes the Bombay Natural History Society(BNHS), the Wildlife Institute of India(WII), and the Zoological Survey of India(ZSI).

About State of India’s Birds 2023:
The report was created to assess the conservation status of the migratory species that regularly occur in India.
Note: “State of India’s Birds 2020” was the 1st attempt to assess the conservation status of the majority of India’s bird species.
Method: The primary data of the report is based on the 30 million observations uploaded by Indian birdwatchers to eBird, an online birding notebook
Assessment: The assessments rely on 3 indices:
i.2 indices are related to the change in abundance,

• long-term trend (change over 30 years) 
• current annual trend (change over the past 7 years)

ii.The 3rd index is a measure of distribution range size within India.

Highlights:
i.The 2023 report has assessed a total of 942 species of Indian birds and long-term trends could be determined for 338 species.
ii.The current annual trends could be determined for 359 species, of which 142 have declined (64 rapidly), 189 are stable, and 28 have increased.

• Around 40% (142) of the 359 species evaluated for change over the last 7 years have declined.

iii.In terms of habitat, birds of grasslands and other open habitats, wetlands, and woodlands are declining rapidly.
iv.In terms of diet, compared to omnivores or fruit-and-nectar eaters, the carnivores, insectivores, and granivores are declining more rapidly.
migratory species, particularly the species endemic to the Western Ghats, Sri Lanka region are declining more rapidly than the non-migrant species.
v.Threats:  Factors such as land-use change, urbanisation, ecosystem degradation, monocultures, disease, infrastructure development, pet trade, hunting, pollution, and climate change are some of the major factors affecting the birds in India.
Key Points:
i.According to the report, the past decades have witnessed around 150% increase in the abundance of peafowl across India.
ii.178 species, including Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Tufted Duck, Greater Flamingo, Sarus Crane, Indian Courser and Andaman Serpent Eagle were classified as “high conservation priority” and require immediate attention.
iii.14 species, including Indian Roller, Common Teal, Northern Shoveler and Common Sandpiper, have declined by 30% or more and have been recommended for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List reassessment. 

SPORTS

FIDE World Chess Cup 2023: Magnus Carlsen Wins First Chess World Cup Title Defeating Praggnanandhaa Norwegian Grandmaster (GM) and World No. 1 player Magnus Carlsen won his first International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Cup title by defeating India’s GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 finals.

• The 10th edition of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023 was held from 29th July to 24th August 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
• Fabiano Caruana of the United States of America(USA) defeated Nijat Asabov of Azerbaijan to secure the 3rd place.
• Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia won the 2023 FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup title by defeating Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria in the finals.

About Federation Internationale des Echecs/International Chess Federation (FIDE):
President – Arkady Dvorkovich
Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
Established – 1924
>> Read Full News

United World Wrestling suspends WFI’s membership 
United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling, has indefinitely suspended the membership of the Wrestling Federation of India(WFI), the governing body of wrestling in India with immediate effect due to lack of elections in the organisation.

• The elections of WFI were supposed to be held in May 2023 but they were postponed due to a series of protests by Indian wrestlers and legal petitions from various state units.
• Following this, Indian wrestlers will not be competing in the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia under the Indian flag but instead, they will have to participate as ‘neutral athletes’. If an Indian athlete makes it to the winner’s podium, the national anthem will not be played.
• The Indian athletes will compete in the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China under the Indian flag since the entries were sent by the Indian Olympic Association(IOA).

Note: Previously, UWW had announced that the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023, which were scheduled to be held in New Delhi(Delhi) were relocated to Astana, Kazakhstan.

STATE NEWS

UP Launches Manav Sampada Portal to Bring Transparency to Employee ActivitiesThe government of Uttar Pradesh(UP) launched the Manav Sampada portal to ensure transparency in the work of all the officers and employees of all 74 departments in the UP government.

• Section 5, a new division will be established within the Personnel department to oversee the operations and manage the portal.
• National Informatics Centre (NIC) will oversee the security of the portal to ensure cyber safety.

Manav Sampada Portal:
i.By 1st October 2023, the service details of the personnel will be updated on the portal.

• The service details include appointment, joining, dismissal, leave management, merit-based online transfer system, annual appraisal report management, salary withdrawal and service book management.

ii.The details of the complete posting profiles of the personnel like disability, husband and wife being in government service and serious illness etc. will also be provided on the portal.
iii.Salaries for every officer and employee will also be released on the basis of consolidated and certified data gathered from the Manav Sampada portal and the DDO(Drawing & Disbursing Officer) portal.
iv.The portal will also provide a platform to conduct the annual assessment of all the employees and this will also facilitate merit-based online transfers.
v.All categories of leave will exclusively be approved through the portal and information regarding personnel training will also be accessible through this portal.
Key Points:
The UP government has also instructed the officials to declare their movable and immovable assets on the portal before December 2023. 

• Failing to comply with this instruction, the officers will face consequences such as denial of promotion.
• The officers and employees should update the details of their property once every 5 years.

About Uttar Pradesh(UP):
Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
Governor– Anandiben Patel
Bird Sanctuary– Vijay Sagar Bird Sanctuary; Hathinala, Renukut (Sonbhadra)
Stadium– Eklavya Sports Stadium; Late Mohan Choubey Pahalvan Sports Stadium

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