CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• World Breastfeeding Week or WBW is observed from August 1 to 7 every year.
• Muslim Women’s Rights Day is observed every year on the 01st of August to celebrate the enforcement of the law against the ‘Triple Talaq’ rule among Muslims.
• World Lung Cancer Day is observed on 01st August, Every year to raise awareness about the causes and treatment of lung cancer and highlight the issues of lack of sufficient research funding for the ailment.
• Every year, August 4 is celebrated as S. Coast Guard Day, commemorating the military organization for its valor and discipline.
• Hiroshima Day is observed every year on August 6 to promote peace politics and raise awareness of the effects of the bomb attack on Hiroshima.
• In India, National Handloom Day is observed annually on August 7 to promote wearing clothing manufactured by hand by indigenous tribes.
• The Athletics Federation of India (AFI)is celebrating the second ‘Javelin Throw Day’ on August 7, 2022.
• Every year on 8 August, the anniversary of the Quit India Movement is marked and observed by paying tribute to freedom fighters who without a doubt laid their lives for the country and its people.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

• India now has 64 Ramsar sites altogether after adding 10 wetlands to the list.
• The Lok Sabha passes the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021.
• The Lok Sabha has passed the National Anti-Doping Bill that seeks to prohibit athletes, support personnel, and other people from engaging in doping in sports.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched the ministry of power’s flagship Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari lay the foundation stone for six National Highway projects totaling 119 kilometers and costing Rs. 2300 crore in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
• To create a “comprehensive legal framework” for policing the online world, the government withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill from Parliament.
• The Ministry of Textiles has approved Pashmina Wool Development Scheme under Integrated Wool Development Programme (IWDP) with a budget allocation of Rs.29.25 Cr. for implementation during FY from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• India has achieved an important milestone by recognizing more than 75,000 start-ups.
• To mark the completion of two years of the launch of National Education Policy 2020, the Union Home Minister recently launched a slew of initiatives related to education and skill development.
• The Election Commission of India recently announced that those over the age of 17 can now apply in advance to be enrolled in the voters’ list.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the first All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet in New Delhi.
• Union Shipping Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and Minister of State for Shipping Shripad Naik inaugurated the Chabahar Day conference in Mumbai
• The Central government will release a special commemorative postage stamp in memory of Pingali Venkayya, the designer of the national flag.
• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a Har Ghar Tiranga Bike Rally by Members of Parliament in Delhi from the iconic Red Fort.
• Jeffrey Armstrong, a Canadian Scholar, has been named the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Distinguished Indologist for 2021.
• By Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas, Housing, and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, the fourth edition of the ONGC Para Games was officially Launched.
• Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and IT kicked off a daylong event to celebrate “8 Years of MyGov” in New Delhi.
• The Centre has formed a task force in the wake of Monkeypox cases in India to monitor and provide guidance to the government on the expansion of diagnostic facilities and to explore vaccination for the infection in the country.
• Tata Group is planning to spend Rs 3,000 crore on R&D by FY26 and is set to roll out the ‘First in India’ seating system for Vande Bharat Express trains from September 2022.
• Union Environment Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the country’s largest online herbarium database, the ‘Indian Virtual Herbarium’ web portal.
• Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued Operational Guidelines regarding the implementation of ‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0′.
• The Government announced the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2022-23 (October-September).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• India and Egypt signed MoU to build a green hydrogen factory worth $8 billion.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Mr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a historic resolution declaring access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, a universal human right.
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added a 106-year-old astronomical observatory at Langat Singh College in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur to its list of important endangered heritage observatories of the world.

• According to a United Nations (UN) report, 84 percent of nearly $1 trillion of global investment in energy transition technologies in 2021 was deployed in China, India, Japan, the US, and Europe.
• The World’s largest floating Solar Power Plant will be constructed in Omkareshwar Dam in the Narmada river in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

• The Government of Kerala is set to launch its online taxi service called “Kerala Savari”.
• The Tamil Nadu government formally launched the first phase of the ‘Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme’ at 1,545 government primary schools for the benefit of over 1.14 lakh children in Classes 1 to 5 during 2022-23.
• The Arunachal Pradesh government inked a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and an organization for a large-scale transformation in school education.

• Shri Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal decided to carve out 7 new districts out of the existing 23 districts by redrawing their boundaries for better administration and development.
• Assam Chief Minister Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma launched ‘Mission Bhumiputra’, a digital way to issue digitized caste certificates to students.
• The West Bengal government has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to prevent migration and trafficking of women since a lot of movement of people takes place between the two states.
• Tamil Nadu Forest Department has set up the first of its kind Urban animal rescue center located inside the Guindy National Park, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS  NEWS

• The gross GST revenue collected in July 2022 is ₹1,48,995 crore of which CGST is ₹ 25,751 crore.
• In July, Goods and Services Tax collections increased by 28% to reach the second-highest level ever at Rs 1.49 lakh crore on the back of economic recovery and steps taken to curb tax evasion.
• The National Statistical Office, the proportion of employed persons working part-time in the 46-59 years age group at all India levels was more than 10% between 2017-20 while in the age group above 60 years, the proportion of employed persons working part-time was more than 15%.
• The Ministry of MSME celebrated the landmark of 1 crore registrations on its Udyam Portal.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

• BOB Financial Solutions Limited has launched its credit card servicing mobile application, ‘bob card’.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has temporarily permitted merchants or their payment aggregators (PAs) involved in the settlement of transactions where cardholders decide to enter the card details manually to save the Card-on-File (CoF) data for a maximum period of “Transaction Date + 4 days” or till the settlement date, whichever is earlier.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed several restrictions, including on the withdrawal of funds, on three Urban cooperative banks (UCBs) namely Jaiprakash Narayan Nagari Sahakari Bank, Basmatnagar, Maharashtra, the Karmala Urban Co-operative Bank, Solapur, Maharashtra, Durga Co-operative Urban Bank, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
• The Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) will acquire its venture capital subsidiary HDFC venture capital limited (HVCL) by buying out the State Bank of India’s 19.5 percent stake in the company.
• Capital market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has postponed the implementation of new rules on the nomination for mutual fund investors till October 1, 2022.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) imposed a penalty of Rs 3 lakh on BSE Ltd for indirectly engaging in works that were unrelated to its activities as a stock exchange without the regulator’s approval.
• The Union Bank of India (UBI) has set “RACE” as the goal for the year.
• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released a framework for automated deactivation of trading and demat accounts of investors in case of inadequate Know Your Client (KYC) details.

• Union Bank of India launched an Industry-first, dedicated, men-focused Committee ‘EmpowerHim’ as part of its flagship HR initiative ‘Prerna’.
• Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys has been inducted into International Financial Services Centers Authority’s (IFSCA) Regulatory Sandbox framework to pilot its blockchain-based trade finance solution.
• The Government of India (GOI) has announced the sale (re-issue) of four dated securities for a notified amount of ₹33,000 crores.
• Punjab National Bank (PNB) announced that the Reserve Bank of India had allowed it to invest ₹500 crores in the upcoming ₹2,500 crore rights issue of PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL).
• SVC Co-operative Bank Ltd. (SVC Bank), one of India’s leading co-operative banks, and Small Industries Development Bank in India (SIDBI), the country’s apex financial institution for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), entered into a partnership through an Agreement.

• The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) in March 2022 increased to 56.4 indicating that growth has been witnessed across all parameters.
• The goods and services tax (GST) e-invoicing will be mandatory for firms with a turnover of over Rs 10 crore from October 1, 2022 down from the current threshold of Rs 20 crore to further plug leakages and ensure better compliance.

• Federal Bank has become India’s first bank to list its Payment Gateway platform on the TIN 2.0 platform of the Income Tax Department.
• Karnataka Bank has entered into an arrangement with Yubi (formerly known as CredAvenue Pvt Ltd) for co-lending via Yubi Co.Lend, India’s co-lending platform.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has restructured its advisory committee on market data that recommends policy measures on securities market data access and privacy.
• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed insurers to buy more perpetual bonds issued by banks and allowed them to participate in high-yield public listings.
• Karnataka Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SCHWING Stetter India Pvt Ltd one of India’s major construction equipment manufacturers for financing construction equipment.
• Insurance start-up InsuranceDekho has partnered with Future Generali India Insurance Company to offer dog health covers.
• Yubi has agreed with U GRO Capital, a new generation Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) business that leverages technology to deliver last-mile credit to MSMEs with the financing of more than INR 2000 crore by March 2023 in India.
• IndusInd Bank has announced a strategic partnership with Rupyy, a new-age digital lending platform offering 100% paperless loan processing for used cars.
• Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd has raised USD 1.1 billion (around Rs 8,700 crore) from a clutch of investors under the ‘Syndicated Social Loan Facility’ at about a 3.3 percent rate for financing housing projects in India.
• Max Life Insurance Company Ltd. has launched Max Life Smart Secure Easy Solution, a comprehensive three-in-one protection solution offering benefits of life, critical illness & disability, and accidental cover.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, presented Agriculture Infra Fund awards.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• The World Bank has appointed Côte d’Ivoire national, Mr. Auguste Tano Kouame, as the Country Director for India for five years which is effective from August 01, 2022.
• Mr. Sanjay Arora, a 1988-batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre took charge as Delhi Police Commissioner.

• Director General (DG) of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Mr. Sujoy Lal Thaosen took over the additional charge of Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in New Delhi.
• The 1988 batch Senior Indian Information Service officer Mr. Satyendra Prakash has been appointed as the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

• President Ms. Droupadi Murmu has appointed Vigilance Commissioner Mr. Suresh N Patel as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India.
• Nexxbase-owned Noise has appointed actress Vaani Kapoor as the brand ambassador of its upcoming smartwatch, the X-Fit 2 series.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of 2008-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Ms. Shweta Singh, as a director in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for three years.
• Fintech platform BharatPe has appointed Nalin Negi as its new chief financial officer (CFO).
• Payments and lending fintech BharatPe has appointed former Reckitt executive Smriti Handa as its Chief Human Resources Officer.
• The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved an extension in service to Rajiv Gauba as cabinet secretary for a further period of one year beyond 30 August 2022.
• Ranjit Rath has taken over as new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil India Limited (OIL).
• The Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea Limited has appointed Ravinder Takkar as its new chairman.
• Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India Shri Justice N V Ramana recommended the name of the senior-most SC judge, Hon’ble Shri Justice Uday Umesh Lalit (49th CJI of India) as his successor to the Hon’ble Minister for Law and Justice.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) New Energy arm, Ola Electric Mobility Private Limited, and Rajesh Exports Limited are the three companies that have signed the Program Agreement under (PLI) Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage.
• National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for developing entrepreneurial skills among the youth and identifying other aspects for mutual collaboration.
• Indian Oil signed an MoU with National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for the transcontinental relocation of ‘Cheetah’ in its historical range in India.
• Arunachal Pradesh government signed a tripartite MoU with NITI Aayog for school education transformation.
• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that paves the way for the sharing of innovative ideas and cooperation on the development of domestic digital payment solutions.
• The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Navy have signed an MoU to collaborate on aviation research and development and to step up the Indian Navy’s self-reliance efforts in line with the goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• To improve its delivery services in the nation, Amazon India has partnered with the Railway of India.
• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is designated as the national industry partner for the Make in Odisha Conclave 2022 under a Memorandum of Understanding between the state-run Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha and the organization.
• The ICT Academy of Kerala (ICTAK) and the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LinkedIn, the biggest professional network in the world, as part of the Connect Career to Campus initiative (CCC).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

• The Indian Air Force(IAF) has set to phase out four Mig-21 fighter squadrons by 2025.
• To commemorate the victory of the Indian Armed Forces(IAF) and pay tribute to the supreme sacrifice of the Gunners in “Operation Vijay”,   Point 5140 at Dras in the Kargil sector has been christened as Gun Hill.
• Tata group’s Aerospace and Defence Arm, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has successfully delivered the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicle-Medium (QRFV) to the Indian Army to bolster the operational capabilities of the IAF.
• The third Edition of the Vietnam India Bilateral Army Exercise “Ex VINBAX 2022” is scheduled to be conducted at Chandimandir, a military cantonment of the Indian Army located in the Panchkula district of Haryana, from August 01 to 20, 2022.
• The 4th Edition of India-Oman Joint Military Exercise ‘AL NAJAH-IV’ will be held from August 01 to 13, 2022 at the Foreign Training Node of Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan.
• India will be part of the mega air combat exercise “Pitch Black 2022” among 17 nations, to be held in the Northern Territory of Australia.
• The guided-missile frigate Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tarkash of the Indian Navy & the French Fleet Tanker French Navy Ship (FNS) Somme participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) in the North Atlantic Ocean.
• The biennial Pacific Dragon ballistic missile defense exercise between the military of South Korea, the United States, and Japan is being held from August 01 to August 14, 2022, to detect and track ballistic missiles in the waters off Hawaii.

• Five women officers of the Indian Naval Air Squadron 314 (INAS 314) based at Naval Air Enclave, Porbandar in Gujarat created history by completing the first all-women independent maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission over the north Arabian Sea onboard a Dornier 228 aircraft.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & the Indian Army have successfully test-fired laser-guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun at KK Ranges with the support of Armoured Corps Centre & School (ACC&S) Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is launching two more small helicopters to Mars as part of its effort to return Martian rocks and soil samples to Earth.
• South Korea launched its first-ever deep-space mission Danuri took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to observe the moon.
• China successfully launched a terrestrial ecosystem carbon monitoring satellite and two other satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province, North China.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITION AND MERGERS

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the acquisition of 50.1% of the equity share capital of Sanmina-SCI India Private Limited (SCIPL) by Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL).
• Bank of Baroda (BoB) will divest up to a 12.5% stake in the insurance arm IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company (IFLIC) through an offer for sale in the initial public offer (IPO) of the insurer or any other mode.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the Composite Scheme of Arrangement and Amalgamation between Shriram Group Companies under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the proposed Rs 4,500 crore deal wherein the Bandhan Financial Holdings-led consortium will buy stakes in IDFC Asset Management and IDFC AMC Trustee.

• American ride-hailing giant Uber offloaded 2 crore shares of online food delivery aggregator Zomato Ltd for Rs 3,088 crore through an open market transaction.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING & INDEX

• Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) released a report titled ‘Internet in India’.
• The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 12.7% as compared to the Index of June 2021.
• According to the real-time Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Savitri Jindal, the Chairperson Emeritus of the OP Jindal Group, has surpassed Yang Huiyan of China to become Asia’s richest woman.
• The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), an Indian statutory insurance and investment corporation has risen to the top 500 in the most recent Fortune Global 500 list.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

• A new book titled “The Journey of a Nation: 75 Years of Indian Economy: Re-emerge, Reinvest, Re-engage” authored by Sanjaya Baru and published by Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd.
• Sanjukta Dash’s collection of poems, Lockdown Lyrics, was published by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
• “Lion of the Skies: Hardit Singh Malik, the Royal Air Force, and the First World War” are a book about “India’s first fighter pilot” who served in World War I before the Indian Air Force was formed.
• Ellen Prager, a marine scientist, has written a book titled “Dangerous Earth: What We Wish We Knew About Volcanoes, Hurricanes, Climate Change, Earthquakes, and More.”
• A global publication date of November 15, 2022, has been scheduled for THE LIGHT WE CARRY: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, the new book by Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States.
• “Do Different: The Untold Dhoni,” written by Amit Sinha and Joy Bhattacharjya and published by India Viking, was released.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• Bindyarani Devi won India a fourth medal at the Commonwealth Games weightlifting arena in Birmingham, bagging a silver medal in the Women’s 55 kg weight class.
• Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu (49kg) went on a record-smashing spree, claiming four of them in a power-packed performance, to claim India’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
• Weightlifter Gururaja Poojary clinched a bronze medal in the men’s 61 kg category at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
• With two years to go from the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, organizers have revealed “Ouvrons Grand Les Jeux”, meaning “Games Wide Open”, as the shared slogan for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• England beat Germany 2-1 after extra time in a packed Wembley Stadium in London, bringing home the trophy of the UEFA women’s Euro for the first time.
• Formula One champion Max Verstappen overcame a spin and his worst starting spot of the season to win the Hungarian Grand Prix.
• Commonwealth Games 2022, also known as Birmingham 2022, began on July 28th and will end on August 8th, 2022 in Birmingham, England.
• The women’s fours lawn bowling team from India created history by taking home the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
• At the Commonwealth Games 2022’s mixed group match, the Indian badminton team won the silver medal.
• In the Table Tennis Final of the Commonwealth Games 2022, India’s paddlers defeated Singapore 3-1 to reclaim the men’s team championship title.
• Star all-rounder Deandra Dottin has announced her retirement from West Indies women’s cricket team, citing she was no longer able to adhere to the team culture and environment.
• At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Tejaswin Shankar of India won the nation’s first athletics medal by taking home a historic bronze in the men’s high jump final.
• At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Indian judoka Tulika Maan win a silver medal in the women’s 78kg division.
• Saurav Ghosal of India defeated James Willstrop of England 11-6, 11-1, 11-4 to win the bronze medal in squash men’s singles and seal a spot for India in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
• At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Murali Sreeshankar won silver in the men’s long jump to give India its second athletics medal.
• At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Sudhir won the gold medal in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting competition.
• At the 44th Chess Olympiad at Mamallapuram, Chennai, Tania Sachdev defeated Hungary with a score of 2.5-1.5 to win the match for India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

• Popular Bengali and Odia singer, Nirmala Mishra, passed away at the age of 81 in Kolkata.
• Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos Passed away at the age of 94.
• Founder of popular Kannada daily newspaper  ‘Udayavani’, T Mohandas M Pai passed away at the age of 89.

• Former Australian featherweight boxing world champion Johnny Famechon passed away at the age of 77 in Melbourne.
• Veteran actor Mithilesh Chaturvedi who was a part of several Hindi films as well as TV shows passed away at the age of 67.