Current Affairs 26 August 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 26 August 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 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

Counter Terrorism Exercise ‘Gandiv’ Conducted by NSG in IndiaThe 3rd Edition of the annual Counter Terrorism Exercise named ‘Gandiv’ is being conducted by the National Security Guard (NSG) across National Capital Region (NCR), Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat. The Exercise will be held from August 22nd-28th, 2021.

• Objective: It aims to validate the planning parameters of the NSG in the event of a terrorist attack, hijack of an Aircraft or hostage situation.

Key points:
i.Gandiv is the name of Arjuna’s bow in Mahabharata.
ii.The exercise will strengthen the counter-terror skills of the State administration, Police, Anti-terrorist squads & create awareness among the public.
iii.It will be witnessed by officials from the ministries of external affairs, home affairs, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), State agencies and Foreign delegates.
About National Security Guard (NSG)
Founded in September 1986. It is an Elite Counter-terrorism unit functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Headquarters – New Delhi. It has 5 regional hubs in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai & Gandhinagar.
Director General – M A Ganapathy

GoI launches SAMRIDH programme to support 300 IT StartupsGovernment of India (GoI) has launched the Startup Accelerator of Meity for Product Innovation, Development & Growth (SAMRIDH) programme to support 300 Information Technology (IT) enabled Startups for a period of 6 months.

• It aims to create 100 unicorns out of the selected IT Startups by  providing Seed funding, Mentorship and Market access.
• Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Meity) will provide seed funds of upto INR 40 lakh & mentorship for 6 months for the selected startups.
• The programme has been modelled on the basis of Ycombinator, one of the successful startup accelerator programmes started in the United States.

Note: Unicorn is a term to describe tech startups that are valued at more than USD 1 billion.
MSH partners with MergerDomo to Strengthen Startup Ecosystem in India
Meity Startup Hub (MSH), an initiative by Meity focussed on building a deep tech ecosystem across India has partnered with MergerDomo, a fundraising & startup advisory platform to Strengthen startup ecosystem in India.

• The partnership aims to support the startups on various aspects such as Investor engagement, Corporate Connects, Pitch evaluation & Strategic Planning.

About Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Meity)
Union Minister – Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha- Odisha)
Minister of State (MoS) – Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Rajya Sabha – Karnataka)
>>Read Full News

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates Centre for Research & Innovation in AI at IIT-H

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education has virtually inaugurated the Centre for Research and Innovation in Artificial Intelligence(AI) established at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad(IIT-H) in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) and Honeywell Technology Solutions(HTS).

• He also inaugurated the 1st Academic building of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, High-Performance Computing Centre and High-Resolution Electron Microscopy Facility.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Sweden’s HYBRIT delivered world’s 1^st fossil-free steel to Volvo ABSweden’s green steel venture HYBRIT had made the world’s first customer delivery of steel produced without using coal and coke, to its truck-manufacturer Volvo AB (Aktiebolaget Volvo) as a trial run. This steel is produced with 100% fossil-free hydrogen.

• HYBRIT stands for Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology.This was the raw material used to manufacture the so-called ‘green steel.
• Its full commercial production will begin in 2026.
• HYBRIT is a joint venture (JV) between Swedish steelmaker SSAB (SSABa.ST) which is a state-owned utility Vattenfall (VATN.UL) and miner LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag).

Key Points:
i.This tech aims to replace coking coal with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. It’s smaller-scale serial production will start in 2022.

• Traditionally coking coal is required for ore-based steel making.

ii.SSAB accounts for 10% of Sweden’s and 7% of Finland’s carbon dioxide emissions. This development will cater to its completely fossil-free value chain.It will revolutionize an industry that accounts for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
iii.Notably, hydrogen is a key part of the European Union (EU’s) plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
About Sweden:
It is a country in Europe.
Capital– Stockholm
Currency– Swedish krona (SEK)

Indian-ASEAN Think Tanks Prepares for 30th Anniversary CelebrationsThe year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – India relation and it is also designated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.

• As an activity towards the anniversary, the Indian-ASEAN think tanks viz, ASEAN Studies Centre of ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, New Delhi and the ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at the Research and Information System (RIS) for Developing Countries, launched their 1st joint training and capacity building programme titled ‘ASEAN-India Development Partnership Programme’ (AIDPP) for scholars and practitioners of ASEAN countries and India.
• As per the partnership years, the year 2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Partnership, the 10th anniversary of Strategic Partnership, and the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India overall relation.

About ASEAN ( Association of Southeast Asian Nations ):
Establishment – 8 August 1967
Headquarters – Jakarta, Indonesia
Secretary-General – H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi (2018 -2022)
>>Read Full News

4^thSafe Cities Index 2021: New Delhi & Mumbai named in 60 global cities; Copenhagen Topsi.The Capital City and Financial Capital City of India i.e. New Delhi and Mumbai respectively have found place in 4^th Safe Cities Index 2021 of 60 global cities, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) sponsored by NEC. The index report is titled as ‘Safe Cities Index 2021- New expectations demand a new coherence’.
ii.While New Delhi is placed at 48^th position with 56.1 scores, the dream city Mumbai ranked at 50^th with a score of 54.4.
iii.The index has been topped by Denmark’s capital Copenhagen with 82.4 making it as the world’s safest city.
About Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Establishment– 1946
Managing Director– Robin Bew
Headquarter– London, United Kingdom (UK)
>>Read Full News

NSA Ajit Doval Chairs 11th BRICS High Representatives Responsible for National Security MeetingAjit Doval Indian National Security Adviser(NSA) virtually chaired the 11th  meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia,India,China,South Africa) High Representatives Responsible for National Security . It was 15th anniversary of the BRICS as well.The adoption for an action plan for countering terrorism and terror financing was taken into consideraion.
Objective –
To review the regional, geo-political and security scenario. The main focus was the developmental processes in Afghanistan, Iran,West Asia and the Gulf.
Highlights

• India pointed out the issue of cross country terrorism and activities the groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, which are considered as major threat at bordering areas of the country
• The discussion on cooperation, law enforcement, healthcare, and counter terrorism occured.
• As 12th BRICS Leader Summit 2020 adopted the BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy, therefore this time the representatives have adopted and suggested the BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan for consideration by the BRICS Summit.
• Strengthening cooperation in the field of cyber security, information sharing practices and combating cyber crimes.

Additional Information:
India will host the upcoming BRICS summit under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
About BRICS:
The acronym “BRICS” was initially formulated in 2001 by economist Jim O’Neill, of Goldman Sachs, in a report on growth prospects for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.
Headquarters– Shanghai, China

BANKING & FINANCE

FREO Launched Savings Account ‘Freo Save’ in Partnership with Equitas SFB FREO, India’s 1st credit-led Neobank, made a partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) and launched a zero-balance savings account named ‘Freo Save’ for its customers.

• The account will offer a 7 percent interest rate on a minimum balance of Rs 1 lakh.
• The account will also provide seamless integration with UPI (United Payment Interface) to make easier funds transfer and bill payments. It would also help the customers to build a better credit score.
• To date, Freo has disbursed loans of more than Rs 4,400 crore to its users under its MoneyTap service.
• MoneyTap offers a credit line of up to Rs 5 lakh; its services include Freo Pay, which offers a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) feature.

What is Neobank?
i.It is a kind of digital bank without any branches. It works entirely online instead of being present physically at a specific location.
ii.Nowadays Neobanks are being launched by financial technology (fintech) startups. They provide better banking solutions in partnership with traditional banks by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
About FREO (formerly known as Money Tap):
i.FREO’s parent company started its operations in India with the launch of Money Tap in 2016.
ii.Money Tap is India’s 1st App-based credit line, it will provide a personal loan through the app in partnership with banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
About Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd:
Headquarters – Chennai, Tamil Nadu
MD and CEO – Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan (P N)
Tagline – It’s Fun Banking

Flipkart Wholesale Launches New Credit Program to Support Kiranas & RetailersFlipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of Flipkart group has launched a new credit program to assist Kiranas and retailers in managing their working capital requirements and promote their business.

• The new credit program has been designed to solve the local challenges faced by the kiranas in India and to help them manage their cash flow and improve their purchase experience on Flipkart wholesale, thereby ensuring that the benefits of digitisation reach the entire B2B retail ecosystem.

Features of Credit Program:
i.The credit offering of Flipkart wholesale, including the ‘Easy Credit’ in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank can help kiranas to get credit at zero cost through digital onboarding.
ii.The credit line under the program will range from Rs 5000 to Rs 2 Lakh with an interest-free period of up to 14 days.
iii.The kiranas will also be able to avail flexible repayment options through cash and online transfer
About Flipkart Group:
Flipkart Group is an Indian e-commerce company, that includes group companies such as Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale and Cleartrip.
Flipkart is a major shareholder of PhonePe, a leading payment app in India.
CEO of Flipkart – Kalyan Krishnamurthy
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka

RBI Empaneled South Indian Bank as Agency Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has empanelled South Indian Bank, the Kerala based private sector lender, as an ‘Agency Bank’ to facilitate transactions related to Central and State government on behalf of the RBI.

• Background: In February 2021, RBI removed the ban imposed (in 2012) over ‘Appointing the Scheduled Private Sector Banks as Agency Banks of RBI’ and further, it revised the guidelines and authorised Scheduled Private Sector Banks as agency banks of RBI for conducting govt businesses.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

PFC signed MoU with NHPC to lend funds for Hydro Projects & AcquisitionsOn August 24, 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked between Power Finance Corp (PFC) and NHPC Limited (erstwhile National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) under which the former will provide financial assistance to the latter’s hydropower projects (particularly projects under Joint Venture), and acquisition of stressed projects.
Signatories:VK Maini, Executive Director (SBD & C), NHPC and Subir Saha, Executive Director (Projects- SR, ER & NER, CSP & C), PFC.
Key Points:
i.There will also be knowledge and technology transfer, contributing to sustainable development initiatives in the country.
ii.PHC will also support NHPC for participation in bids by providing financial commitment required for taking over the stressed Projects.
iii.On the other hand, NHPC will provide expert advice on ongoing hydro projects funded by PFC along with undertaking Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of Hydroelectric projects taken over by PFC.
About NHPC:
It is Mini Ratna Category-I Public Sector Undertaking (PSU).
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)– Abhay Kumar Singh
Headquarter– Faridabad, Haryana
About Power Finance Corp (PFC):
It is a Schedule-A Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE)
Establishment– 1986
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)– Ravinder Singh Dhillon
Headquarter– New Delhi

ReNew Power Become 1st Indian Renewable Energy Company to List on NASDAQReNew Power, India’s largest renewable energy company, has become the first Indian renewable energy company to get listed on the NASDAQ, an American stock exchange based in New York, USA.
ReNew Power has been listed on the NASDAQ following the merger with RMG Acquisition Corporation II (RMG II), a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The merged company has been named ReNew Energy Global Plc. 

• As a result of the business combination, RMG II has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global PLC.

• The merger has put an enterprise value of around 8 billion USD and an equity value of 4.4 billion USD on ReNew Energy Global Plc.
• ReNew Power will raise around 1 billion USD from the public listing on the NASDAQ.

Major Investors:
i.Major investors of ReNew Power are Goldman Sachs, CPP Investments, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, GEF SACEF and JERA.
ii.The shareholding of Goldman Sachs has gone down from 49% to 33%, CPP Investments and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have gone down from 17% each to around 13%.
iii.The RMG Corp II will own around 20% of ReNew Power.
ReNew Power Signs PPA with SECI for India’s 1st RTC Renewable Energy Project
ReNew Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for Round-The-Clock (RTC) electricity supply, the first-of-its-kind in India.
ReNew won the bid to supply Round-The-Clock power in 2020 through an auction conducted by SECI

• The estimated cost of the project is around 1.2 billion USD (around Rs 8913 crore).
• ReNew Power will require around 1,300 MW hybrid capacity (900 MW wind capacity and 400 MW of solar capacity), supplemented with battery storage, to supply power from the 400 MW RTC project at 80% utilisation rate.

About ReNew Power:
Chairman and Managing Director– Sumant Sinha
Headquarter– Gurugram, Haryana

BPCL launched AI-enabled chatbot ‘Urja’

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) launched a virtual assistant named ‘Urja’ with AI/NLP (Artificial Intelligence/Natural Language Processing) technology. It is trained on more than 600 use cases.

• It will cater to the BPCL’s objective of making customer interface comprehensive and digitally integrated as it can solve queries for both B2B (Business to Business) & B2C (Business-to-Consumer).
• Urja speaks in 13 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu and Assamese).

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Sahitya Akademi Announced Sahitya Akademi Awards 2020 for Odia and MalayalamThe Sahitya Akademi has announced the winners of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2020 for Odia and Malayalam. Yashodhara Mishra and Omcherry NN Pillai have been declared as the winners of the 2020 Sahitya Akademi Awards for Odia and Malayalam respectively.

• Yashodhara Mishra has been awarded for her book titled “Samudrakula Ghara”. 
• Omcherry NN Pillai has been awarded for his memoir titled “Akasmikam: Omcheriyute Ormmakkurippukal”.

About Yashodhara Mishra:
i.Yashodhara Mishra, an Author, poet and academician, has more than 15 collections of short stories, novels, poems and translated works to her credit.
ii.She is the first woman to be the editor of “Indian Literature”, a literary journal published by Sahitya Akademi.
About Omcherry NN Pillai
i.Professor Omcherry NN Pillai, a renowned novelist and playwright, has contributed to Malayalam literature and the modern Malayalam Theatre movement.
ii.He has served as the head of the Malayalam news division of All India Radio(AIR) and the director of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
iii.He has also served as the communication consultant to the World Bank, UNESCO and the British council.
Sahitya Akademi Awards 2020:
i.The Sahitya Akademi Awards 2020 was announced in March 2021 and the awards were presented for literary works in 20 Indian Languages except for Odia, Rajasthani, Malayalam and Nepali.
ii.The awards consist of an engraved copper plaque and a cash award of Rs 1 Lakh. 
iii.The awards for Rajasthani and Nepali are yet to be announced.
Note:
Sahitya Akademi presents awards to the literary works in 24 languages including English.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Alia Bhatt Appointed as Brand ambassador of Samsung IndiaBollywood actress Alia Bhatt has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Samsung India to endorse Galaxy Z, a series of foldable smartphones, in India. Samsung India is set to launch its Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G smartphones in India from 10th September 2021.

• As the brand ambassador of Samsung India, Alia Bhatt will drive the adoption of the Galaxy Z series among young Gen Z and millennial consumers.

Sunpure appoints Sonu Sood as brand ambassador:
Sunpure, an edible cooking oil brand based in Karnataka has appointed Actor Sonu Sood as its brand ambassador. Sunpure is sold by MK Agrotech Pvt. Ltd
Sunpure has launched a campaign #EkRishtaShudhtaKa, featuring Sonu Sood released in Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada.
As a part of the association with Sunpure, Sonu Sood will also lead various brand campaigns.
About Samsung:
Samsung is a South Korean company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea.
Chairman– Jae-Wan Bahk
Vice-Chairman and CEO– Ki-Nam Kim

 RBI Approves Reappointment of Sandeep Bakhshi as MD& CEO of ICICI BankThe Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has approved the reappointment of Sandeep Bakhshi as the Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of ICICI Bank with effect from 15th October 2021 to 3rd October 2023.
He was appointed as the MD & CEO of ICICI Bank in 2018 following the resignation of Chanda Kochhar on 4th October 2018.
Background:
i.In August 2019, the ICICI bank’s Shareholder meeting approved the appointment of Sandeep Bakshi as the MD & CEO for a period of 5 years with effect from 15th October 2018 to 3rd October 2023.
ii.The RBI approved his appointment for a period of 3 years against the 5-year term sought by the ICICI bank.
About Sandeep Bakhshi:
i.Sandeep Bakhshi joined the ICICI group in 1986 and has served in various capacities at ICICI Limited, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, ICICI Bank and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.
ii.He has served as the MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company between 2010 and 2018.
iii.He has also served as the Deputy Managing Director of ICICI Bank and MD & CEO of ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
About ICICI Bank:
MD & CEO– Sandeep Bakhshi
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Incorporated in 1994
Tagline– Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

HDFC Bank divests 2.21% stake in CDSL for Rs 222.71 croreHDFC Bank has divested 2.21% stakes in Central Depository Services(India) Limited(CDSL) for Rs 222.71 crore over a period from 22nd June 2021 to 24th August 2021.
HDFC Bank has sold around 2311000 equity shares of the face value of Rs 10 each.

• CDSL is India’s leading and only listed depository, which provides depository service to market participants.
• Operating services of CDSL: Depository, data entry and record keeping of KYC documents of capital market investors, and repository.

Background:
i.HDFC Bank sold 2036000 shares of CDSL around 1.95% stakes at an average price of Rs 937.46 per piece on 22nd June 2021.
ii.The bank sold 213481 shares at Rs 1168.94 apiece on 23rd August 2021 and has sold 61519 shares for Rs 1119.31 apiece on 24th August 2021.
Eldeco Group & HDFC Capital Set Up Rs 150cr Fund to Build Housing Projects:
i.Eldeco Group has partnered with HDFC Capital Advisors Limited, a subsidiary of HDFC Limited, to set up a Rs 150 crore platform to build housing projects.
ii.Eldeco Infrastructure and Properties Limited, a part of Eldeco Group has partnered with HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 1 (H-CARE 1), a fund managed by HDFC Capital to form a platform to develop low rise and plotted development projects.
iii.The developments will be undertaken by Eldeco Greens Infrastructure Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle.
About Central Depository Services(India) Limited(CDSL):
Chairperson– Balkrishna V. Chaubal
MD & CEO– Nehal Vora
Headquarters– Mumbai. Maharashtra
About HDFC Bank:
MD & CEO– Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline– We understand your world
Established in 1994
Chatbot– Eva

1.59% Shares of Canara Bank Picked Up by Rakesh JhunjhunwalaRakesh Jhunjhunwala has picked up 1.59%  or 2,88,50,000 equity shares via the qualified institutions placement (QIP) in Canara Bank, which is around INR 407 Crore. With this Jhunjhunwala has become one of the top investors in the bank.
Key Points:
i.The face value of each share is Rs. 10.
ii.Seven investors have been allotted more than 5% equity in the issue. They include LIC (15.9%), BNP Paribas (12.5%), Societe Generale (7.9%), Indian Bank (6.3%) and ICICI Prudential (6.3%).
About Jhunjhunwala:
i.Jhunjhunwala also owns shares of 3 banks named as- Federal Bank, Karur Vysya Bank along with Canara Bank.
ii.He is also known as the ‘ Warren Buffett of India‘.
About Canara Bank
Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – L.V. Prabhakar
Headquarters- Bengaluru, Karnataka
Tagline– Together We Can
Founded in – July 1906
Syndicate Bank was amalgamated into Canara Bank on April 2020

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Pakistan Successfully Testfires ‘Fatah-1’-Guided Multi Launch Rocket SystemPakistan has successfully test-fired Fatah-1, an Indigenously developed Guided Multi Launch Rocket System (MLRS) which has the capability of precision target engagement deep into the enemy territories

• It is capable of carrying conventional warheads & has a range of 140 km.
• The Guided MLRS is capable of hitting targets without leaving behind the unexploded ordnance.
• Fatah-1 is a variant of the guided MLRS family which has an extended range of upto 150 km.
• This launch marked the 2nd flight of Fatah-1, after its first launch in January 2021.

Pakistan’s Other Missiles 
i.Ghaznavi-Nuclear capable Surface-to-surface ballistic missile of range upto 290km.
ii.Babur-Short range surface-to-surface cruise missile of range 450 km.
iii.Shaheen-Ⅲ – Nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can target upto 2750 km.
About Pakistan
PrimeMinister – Imran Khan
Capital – Islamabad
Currency – Pakistani Rupee

Indian Army Receives 1st Batch of MMHG from EELIndian Army received the delivery of 1st batch of Multi-Mode Hand Grenade (MMHG) manufactured by Nagpur based private company Economic Explosives Limited (EEL).

• MMHG has been designed by Chandigarh based Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratories (TBRL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & is manufactured by EEL, Nagpur.
• In October 2020, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract with EEL for supply of 10 lakh MMHG to Indian Army at cost of around INR 409 crore

Multi-Mode Hand Grenade (MMHG)
i.With distinctive design, the grenades can be used in both Offensive and Defensive mode.
ii.It has highly accurate delay time, very high reliability in usages & safe for carriage.
About Economic Explosives Limited (EEL)
EEL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Solar Industries
Chairman & Executive Director – Satyanarayan Nandlal Nuwal
Headquarters – Nagpur, Maharashtra
About Indian Army
Chief of the Army Staff – General Manoj Mukund Naravane
Headquarters – New Delhi
>>Read Full News

SPORTS

India’s GM Arjun Erigaisi wins Ⅱ Terras de Tras-os-Montes Chess Open 2021Indian Chess GrandMaster (GM) Arjun Erigaisi won Ⅱ Terras de Tras-os-Montes Chess Open 2021 held in Braganca, Portugal. The tournament was held from August 19th-24th, 2021.

• He remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, by winning 8 games & 1 draw match.
• Arjun was born in 2003 at Warangal, Telangana. He is the 54th GM from India.
• Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE (World Chess Fédération Internationale).

Other Indian players Performance
i.Chennai based Indian GM Gukesh finished in 2nd place by winning 8 games & losing 1 match against GM Erigaisi.
ii.Indian Chess player Moksh Amit Doshi was the next best Indian performer by finishing at the 15th place.
iii.A total of 5 Indians participated in the tournament comprising 146 players.
About All India Chess Federation (AICF)
President – Sanjay Kapoor
Founded- 1951
Headquarters – Chennai, Tamilnadu

OBITUARY

Olympian Footballer O Chandrasekharan Passed Away in Kochi, KeralaO. Chandrasekharan, an Olympian & excellent defender in the Indian Football team passed away at the age of 86. He was born in Irinjalakuda town in Thrissur, Kerala & he died in Kochi, Kerala.
About O.Chandrasekharan:
i.He was a member of the Rome Olympics 1960 Gold medal winning Indian football team.
ii.Under his captaincy, Indian Football team won a Gold medal in the Jakarta Asian Games 1962.
iii.He was a member of the Indian Football Team that won Silver in Malaysia’s 1959 & 1964 Merdeka cup.
iv.He also led the Maharashtra team to the Santosh Trophy title, a prestigious inter-state tournament in India, in the 1963-64 season.

STATE NEWS

Assam Govt Signed MoU with MFIs to Implement AMFIRS 2021On August 24, 2021, As per the report of the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), the Assam government (govt) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with 37 microfinance lenders for joint implementation of the AMFIRS (Assam Micro Finance Incentive and Relief Scheme), 2021 relief scheme in Guwahati, Assam.

• Objective: To provide financial relief to more than 20 lakh poor women borrowers of the state, who are not able to return the loan amount of the microfinance institutions (MFIs).
• The AMFIRS, 2021 scheme involves a credit portfolio of Rs 12,000 crore, out of which, the state govt plans to spend around Rs 7,200 crore.
• Under the scheme, the microfinance borrowers will be provided with a one-time incentive of Rs 25,000 or equal to the outstanding balance, whichever is lower.

About Assam:
Chief Minister – Himanta Biswa Sarma
Wildlife Sanctuaries – Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary
Tiger Reserves – Manas Tiger Reserve, Nameri Tiger Reserve
>>Read Full News

Power Export Agreement Renewed by Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited with Bangladesh govtA trade agreement between Indo-Bangladesh signed by the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was renewed recently for the export of power.
Highlights

• It was originally signed in 2016 for the supply of 160 megawatt power to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) .
• This 5 year agreement expired in March 2021 but after negotiations it got renewed.
• The TSECL gets around 45 crore annually from this agreement which is competitively better than domestic charges.

About Tripura
Chief Minister– Biplab Kumar Deb(Banamalipur, Tripura)
National Park-Clouded Leopard National Park,Bison National Park
Wildlife Sanctuary- Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary ,Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary, Gomati Wildlife Sanctuary

Punjab Govt Chosen SBI General Insurance to Service AB-SSBY in the Punjab StateThe Punjab Government has chosen SBI General Insurance to expand the health insurance coverage in the state of Punjab under Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana (AB-SSBY).

• SBI General Insurance will collaborate with the state government and provide the cashless health insurance cover of Rs 5 Lakh under AB-SSBY to 40 lakh eligible families in Punjab particularly to the less privileged section.

About AB-SSBY:
i.It is an entitlement based Health Insurance Scheme of the Punjab state. It was launched on 20 August 2019 to offer cashless Health Insurance cover of Rs 5 Lakh per family per year.
ii.AB-SSBY intends to provide financial protection to the 65 percent population of the state of Punjab.
iii.Under the scheme, the beneficiary families could avail of health services at empanelled private and government hospitals.
iv.Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) – 2011 data beneficiaries, Smart ration card holders under National Food Security Act (NFSA), farmers, construction workers, small traders & Accredited and yellow card holder journalists were eligible to get benefit from the scheme.
About SBI General Insurance Company Ltd:
Establishment – 2009 (Commenced Operation – 2010)
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Prakash Chandra Kandpal
Tagline – Suraksha Aur Bharosa Dono
About Punjab:
Chief Minister – Amarinder Singh
Wildlife Sanctuaries – Bir Moti Bagh Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Bhunerheri Wildlife Sanctuary
Zoological Parks – Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park, Tiger safari zoo

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