Daily Current Affairs – August 31, 2023
Share on facebook
Share on whatsapp
Share on twitter
Share on telegram
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Daily Current Affairs - Banking - August 31, 2023
Dear Banking Aspirants,
Prepare for the Daily Current Affairs with Veranda Race who is the pioneer in the Banking Exam Coaching. Current Affairs section is one of the important Scoring section in the Mains of many Banking Exams like SBI PO, SBI CLERK, IBPS PO, IBPS CLERK, IBPS RRB PO, IBPS RRB CLERK and multiple Insurance Exams.
Veranda Race is committed to provide Daily Current Affairs for all the days for the students who are preparing for Banking & Insurance Exams.
Check Daily for the Daily Current Affairs and also for the Quizzes to prepare for the upcoming Banking & Insurance Exams in 2023.
Download – LEGEND Monthly Current Affairs Magazine
National News
Shri Bhupender Yadav launched Chemotherapy Services in 30 ESIC Hospitals
- Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav launched Chemotherapy Services in 30 ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) Hospitals across the country during the 191st meeting of the ESI Corporation at ESIC Headquarters in New Delhi.
- The Union Minister also Inaugurated a Control Room with Dashboards of ESIC. The dashboards will ensure better monitoring of resources and beds at ESIC hospitals, current status of ongoing construction projects, etc.
- So far, 8 medical colleges, 2 dental colleges, 2 nursing colleges and one para-medical college have been established and are being run by ESIC.
- In principle approval to set up 15 new ESI Hospitals, 78 ESI Dispensaries, increase in bed strength at ESIC Hospital, Beltola, Assam, ESIC Medical College & Hospital, K. K. Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana was given in the meeting.
- Ministry of Labour & Employment Bhupender Yadav,Cabinet Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,Rajasthan) – Rameshwar Teli,Minister of State (Dibrugarh,Assam)
State News
Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia inaugurated Utkela Airport
- Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia along with General Vijay Kumar Singh (Rtd.) MoS, Ministry of Civil Aviation inaugurated Utkela Airport and a direct flight between Utkela and Bhubaneshwar.
- Utkela airport is owned by the Government of Odisha.
- It has been developed as a regional airport under the UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 31.07 Crores.
- Utkela airport has a runway of length 917 meters. (2,995 ft.) with a width of 30 meters.
- With the addition of Utkela Airport, Odisha will now have five airports.
- The newly inaugurated Utkela – Bhubaneshwar – Utkela flight route will enhance regional air connectivity and play an important role in the economic development of the region.
- IndiaOne, will be running the flights on this route from 31st August onwards.
- The operator will be utilizing 9-seater Cessna C-208 aircraft sanctioned under the UDAN scheme.
- Odisha – Bhubaneswar (Capital) – Naveen Patnaik (CM) – Ganeshi Lal (Governor) – Odia (Language)
Chokuwa rice of Assam got GI tag
- Chokuwa rice (Magic rice) of Assam had recently received Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
- Chokuwa rice is a part of Assam culinary heritage, this unique rice has been a staple of the troops of the mighty Ahom dynasty.
- This unique and healthy rice is cultivated around the Brahmaputra area and is cultivated in several parts of Assam like Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon and Morigaon.
- Assam– Dispur (Capital) – Himanta Biswa Sarma (CM) – Gulab Chand Kataria (Governor) – Assamese & Boro (Language)
Schemes
Gruha Lakshmi scheme
- Karnataka government under Gruha Lakshmi Scheme at a function in Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall, Dakshina Kannada.
- The government launched the scheme to economically empower women who have been hit hard owing to inflation.
- Under the scheme the government has credited ₹47.67 crore to the accounts of 2.38 lakh women.
- The government is yet to credit ₹15.47 crore to the remaining 77,374 women beneficiaries under the scheme.
- Karnataka – Bengaluru (Capital) – Siddaramaiah (CM) –Thawarchand Gehlot (Governor) – Kannada (Language)
Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangla Yojana
- On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced an increase of Rs 10,000 in the amount of the Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangla Yojana from 2024-25.
- The scheme was launched on 25 October 2019 in Lucknow.
- Under the scheme, underprivileged girls get a package of Rs 15,000 in six phases, starting from their birth to the time they enter graduation, which has been increased to Rs 25,000 from the next financial year.
- Under the new increased amount starting from next year, as soon as a girl is born, an amount of Rs 5,000 will be transferred to her parents’ account; when she turns oneyear old, Rs 2,000 will be transferred; when she enters the first grade, Rs 3,000; on entering the sixth grade, Rs 3,000; on entering the ninth grade, Rs 5,000; and if the daughter pursues a graduate, diploma or a certificate course, then an amount of Rs 7,000 will be transferred to her account.
- About 16.24 lakh girls are being benefitted in the state through this scheme at present.
- Uttar Pradesh – Lucknow (Capital) – Yogi Adityanath (CM) – Anandiben Patel (Governor) – Hindi (Language)
YSR Rythu Bharosa Scheme
- The state government released Rs 109.74 crores to 1,46,324 tenant farmers under the YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme.
- The scheme, running for a fifth consecutive year, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy wants to extend aid to the maximum number of beneficiaries.
- The government has been providing financial assistance to farmers since October 15, 2019, under the Rythu Bharosa-PM Kisan scheme.
- Under the scheme, the first instalment of Rs 7,500, including Rs 2,000 of PM Kisan, is released in May, the second instalment of Rs 4,000 in October and the third instalment of Rs 2,000 (PM Kisan only) in January, bringing the total to Rs 13,500.
- Andhra Pradesh – Visakhapatnam (Capital) – Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (CM) – S. Abdul Nazeer (Governor) – Telugu (Language)
Centre extended PLI scheme for automotive sector until FY28
- The government has decided to extend the Rs 25,938-crore production-linked incentive scheme for the automotive sector by one year.
- Post extension, the five-year scheme, originally in place from 2022-23 to 2026-27, will be active until 2027-28.
- At present, incentives are applicable under the scheme for determined sales of Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) products (vehicles and components) manufactured in India from 1 April 2022 onwards for a period of five consecutive years.
Banking and Finance
NPCI Launched India’s Own Blockchain-Backed Open-Source Project ‘Falcon’
- The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), launched Falcon — an open-source project that aims to simplify the management and use of blockchains based on ‘Hyperledger Fabric’ and supported on Kubernetes clusters.
- Essentially, Falcon is expected to help developers innovate on blockchain-based payment solutions.
- This offering from the NPCI is expected to help blockchain developers to use the distributed ledger technology to facilitate efficient, reliable, and automated deployment of network as well as Web3 solutions.
- Hyperledger Fabric was initiated by Digital Asset and IBM, as per Investopedia.
- Hyperledger fabric is an enterprise-level permission blockchain network.
- The framework serves as a foundation for creating blockchain-based products and solutions.
- Developed by Google engineers Joe Beda, Brendan Burns, and Craig McLuckie in 2014, Kubernetes is an open-source platform that assists the management of packaged software codes, also called containerised applications.
- A Kubernetes cluster is a set of nodes that run containerised applications.
- National Payments Corporation of India – 2008 (Founded) – Mumbai (HQ) – Dilip Asbe (MD & CEO)
Deadline for these wage payments using Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) extended to this date
- The Central Government extended the deadline for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) wage payments via the Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS) to December 31, 2023, or until further direction.
- The Central Government has been informed that numerous transactions for wage payments are being rejected due to an outdated account number by destination bank branch due to frequent changes in Bank Account Numbers made by the beneficiary and non-updating of the new account number.
- The Aadhaar-based payment system is nothing more than a means of depositing funds into beneficiaries’ accounts.
- This system follows well-defined processes, and beneficiaries, field staff, and all other stakeholders all have distinct roles.
- The Aadhaar Payments Bridge System (APBS) has been shown to be the most effective method for using Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to pay wages in order to prevent these rejections.
- It will assist the recipients in receiving their salary payments on schedule.
Punjab National Bank launched app to enable MSMEs access instant loans using GST
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a mobile application based on the GST Sahay scheme, an end-to-end digital product under which lending can be done using GST invoices.
- With this integration, PNB has become the first public sector bank to facilitate frictionless credit flow to MSMEs using GST invoices.
- The initiative is also in line with the bank’s strategy to further the development of the MSME sector and digital credit ecosystem in the country.
- The PNB GST Sahay App makes the entire loan process digitised and helps eliminate any manual intervention for borrowers and makes the process more cost-effective, fast, and smooth.
- Punjab National Bank – 19/05/1894 (Founded) – Dwarka, New Delhi (HQ) – Atul Kumar Goel (MD & CEO) – “The Name You Can Bank Upon” (Tagline)
Agreements and MoUs signed
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment signed MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation
- Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- This strategic partnership aims to enhance the socio-economic upliftment of Safai Karamcharis, Manual Scavengers, Waste Pickers and their dependants.
- NSKFDC is continuously working for empowerment of these most vulnerable and deprived sections of society through its various loan based and non-loan-based schemes like Short Term Skill Development Training Programmes.
- It focuses on complete mechanization of Sewer and Septic Tank cleaning operation by providing soft loans at low rates of interest to Sanitation Workers, Urban Local Bodies.
- Capital subsidy ranging from 50 to 32 percent is provided to sanitation workers taking up mechanized cleaning works under Swachhta Udyami Yojana (SUY).
- Adequate training is provided free of cost to sanitation workers regarding safety precautions, use of PPE kits and operation and maintenance of cleaning machines and equipments.
- NSKFDC also provides loans upto Rs.1.00 lakhs under its Mahila Samridhi Yojana and Micro Credit Finance Scheme.
- The overall rate of interest is 4% and 5%, respectively.
- The other loan schemes are General Term Loan and Green Business Schemes under which loans upto Rs.15.00 lakhs and upto Rs.30.00 lakhs respectively are provided with rate of interest at 6% and 1% rebate for women beneficiaries.
- Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment – Virendra Kumar Khatik,Cabinet Minister (Tikamgarh,MP) – Ramdas Athawale, Minister of State (Rajya Sabha MP,Maharashtra),Pratima Bhowmik, Minister of State (Tripura West,Tripura), A. Narayanaswamy, Minister of State (Chitradurga, Karnataka)
Goa Shipyard Limited signed MoU with Kenya Shipyard Ltd for collaboration in shipbuilding
- Goa Shipyard Ltd and Kenya Shipyard Ltd signed an MoU for capacity building and collaboration in ship design and construction following Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Defence Aden Bare Duale’s bilateral talks here to promote military industry cooperation and deepen maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.
- Kenya – Nairobi (Capital) – Kenyan shilling (Currency) – William Ruto (President) – Swahili & English (Language)
- Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) – 1957 (Founded) – Vasco da Gama, Goa (HQ) – Brajesh Kumar Upadhyay (Chairman & MD)
Summit and Conference
Global Maritime India Summit, 2023
- Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways organised a road show on Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 in Guwahati, Assam.
- The Global Maritime India Summit is a flagship event aimed at propelling the Indian maritime economy by promoting global and regional partnerships and facilitating investments.
- It is a strategic meeting of the Indian and international maritime community to address key industry issues and exchange ideas to bring the sector forward.
- The 3- day event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be held in New Delhi in the month of October this year.
- Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways – Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister (Rajya Sabha MP, Assam) – Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (North Goa) & Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State (Bangaon,West Bengal)
Science and Technology
Indian Institute of Horticulture Research sets up modern seed testing facility
- The Indian Council for Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (ICAR-IIHR) has collaborated with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to set up seed testing centre that will have lot of automation built into the processing facility.
- The new facility, which more than doubles IIHR seed processing capacity to around 100 tonnes from the current 40 tonnes per year, was inaugurated by ICAR Director-General Himanshu Pathak.
- HAL has provided funding for the new seed processing unit through its CSR mandate.
- The new HAL-ICAR-IIHR Seed Production Centre will augment the existing processing infrastructure for timely processing of seeds and to reduce the labour dependency for making the process cost-effective and efficient.
- The new facility includes processing machineries such as automated seed coating unit, seed dryer and colour sorters, automatic pouch filling machines among others.
- The new facility will enhance the availability of large quantity of quality seeds of ICAR-IIHR bred vegetable and flower crop varieties/hybrids and help expand its market share.
- IIHR sells about 60 per cent of its seeds online to places including the hilly regions of North East.
Acquisitions and Mergers
Softbank sold 1.16% stake in Zomato
The Japanese conglomerate Softbank divested a 1.16% ownership stake (10,00,00,000 shares) in online food ordering company Zomato for Rs 947 crore.
Appointments
Jaya Verma Sinha appointed as Chairman & CEO of Railway Board
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Jaya Verma Sinha, Indian Railway Management Services (IRMS), Member (Operations & Business Development), Railway Board to the post of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railway Board for one year till August 31, 2024.
Ali Bongo won as President of Gabon
- General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, chief of the Republican Guard, was designated as 4th president of Gabon.
- Gabon – Libreville (Capital) – Central African CFA franc (Currency) – Brice Oligui (President) – French (Language)
Former CJI N.V. Ramana appointed member of international mediator panel of SIMC
- Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana has been appointed as member of the International Mediator Panel of Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC).
- Chairman of SIMC George Lim presented Justice Ramana the letter of appointment in Singapore.
- Singapore – Singapore City (Capital) – Singapore dollar (Currency) – Halimah Yacob (President) – Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister) – Malay (Language)
Geetika Srivastava India's new charge d'affaires at its High Commission in Islamabad
- Geetika Srivastava appointed as India’s new charge d’affaires at its High Commission in Islamabad by succeeding Dr M Suresh Kumar.
- She became the first woman to hold that post.
- She is Currently serving as joint secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), she will succeed who is likely to return to New Delhi.
- Pakistan – Islamabad (Capital) – Pakistani rupee (Currency) – Arif Alvi (President) – Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar (Prime Minister) – Urdu (Language)
Important Days
World Sanskrit Day
- World Sanskrit Day (Sanskrit Diwas), also known as Vishva-Samskrita-Dinam is annually observed on August 31.
- The day was declared by the government of India in 1969.
- The day was supposed to be a tribute to the work of the renowned Sanskrit scholar Paṇini and his legacy.
International Day for People of African Descent
- International Day for People of African Descent is annually observed on August 31.
- The day aims to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.
- The day was first observed in 2021 by United Nations.
Daily Current Affairs - August 31, 2023 - Consolidated
- Shri Bhupender Yadav launched Chemotherapy Services in 30 ESIC Hospitals
- Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia inaugurated Utkela Airport
- Chokuwa rice of Assam got GI tag
- Gruha Lakshmi scheme
- Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangla Yojana
- YSR Rythu Bharosa Scheme
- Centre extended PLI scheme for automotive sector until FY28
- NPCI Launched India’s Own Blockchain-Backed Open-Source Project ‘Falcon’
- Deadline for these wage payments using Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) extended to this date
- Punjab National Bank launched app to enable MSMEs access instant loans using GST
- Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment signed MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation
- Goa Shipyard Limited signed MoU with Kenya Shipyard Ltd for collaboration in shipbuilding
- Global Maritime India Summit, 2023
- Indian Institute of Horticulture Research sets up modern seed testing facility
- Softbank sold 1.16% stake in Zomato
- Jaya Verma Sinha appointed as Chairman & CEO of Railway Board
- Ali Bongo won as President of Gabon
- Former CJI N.V. Ramana appointed member of international mediator panel of SIMC
- Geetika Srivastava India’s new charge d’affaires at its High Commission in Islamabad
- World Sanskrit Day
- International Day for People of African Descent
Do you wish to crack Banking Exams in 2023 ? - Register Now
Take your first step to your DREAM GOVERNMENT JOB
Enquire for Next Batch.