Current Affairs in English – August 22 2022

National Events:

Paytm:

Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been reappointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of financial services platform Paytm .
One97 Communications Limited ( OCL ) owns the brand Paytm which is India’s leading digital payments and financial services company and the pioneer of QR and mobile payments .
The Paytm company was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2010 . Paytm HQ : Noida.

Commercial space situational awareness observatory:

India’s first commercial space situational awareness observatory will be set up in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand by Digantara , a space sector start – up .
It will track objects as small as 10 cm in size orbiting the earth.
The space situational awareness observatory will help India track any activity in space including that of space debris and military satellites hovering over the region.

N Rangasamy , the Chief Minister of Puducherry:

N Rangasamy , the Chief Minister of Puducherry , presented a 10,696.61 crore tax – free budget on 22 August 2022 for the fiscal 2022-23 .
The budget contained many key announcements including free house site pattas for freedom fighters in the union territory .
A National Law University would also be established in Puducherry.

High – quality education to the youth:

In a first , the Uttar Pradesh government is planning to build an education township in the state . It will be developed on the idea of ‘ Single Entry , Multiple Exit .
It will provide high – quality education to the youth and equip them with a variety of professional skills in a single place .
Besides , it will provide accommodation and many other facilities to both students and teachers.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar:

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Paraguay in August 2022 .
He also visited the historic Casa de la Independencia from where the South American country’s Independence movement started more than two centuries ago .
He is on his first – ever official visit to South America and would also be visiting Argentina.

Central Zonal Council Meeting:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the 23rd Central Zonal Council Meeting in Bhopal on 22 August 2022 .
He also laid the foundation stone for the Bhopal campus of the National Forensic Sciences University .
He also addressed seminars on subjects like New Education Policy and role of co – operative in agricultural marketing.

CEIB:

To help curb frauds in the banking system , Banks have worked out a 20 – point standard format to seek information on borrowers from the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau ( CEIB ) before sanctioning big – ticket loans.
The move for a uniform format is aimed at reducing the delay in getting such information on economic offences . This will help curb frauds and speed up big – ticket lending.

EASE:

Every branch of state run banks in the country will have to entertain at least three requests for offering doorstep banking services per month until March 2023 , according to a target set by PSB Alliance .
Doorstep banking initiative was launched by the Finance ministry in September 2020 , as part of EASE ( Enhanced Access and Service Excellence ) reforms programme.

GI:

Union government has awarded Geographical Indication ( GI ) tag to Mithila Makhana . With this move , growers will get the maximum price for their premium produce . Over five lakh farmers of Mithila region of Bihar will be benefitted from this decision .
Once a product gets the GI tag , any person or company cannot sell a similar item under that name . It remains valid for a period of 10 years.

Hydrogen fuel cell bus:

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on 21 August 2022 launched ” India’s first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell bus ” in Pune . The bus has been developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR ) and private firm KPIT Limited .
The fuel cell utilizes hydrogen and air to generate electricity to power the bus . CSIR Founded : 1942. Director General : Nallathamby Kalaiselvi.

Rural industrial parks:

Chhattisgarh government will set up 300 rural industrial parks in the state to boost and strengthen the village economy . The project will be launched on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 , 2022.
In the first year of the project , there will be 300 such parks . Objective : to create a source of additional income for the rural poor families . Chhattisgarh Capital : Raipur. CM : Bhupesh Baghel.

GMR Group:

GMR Group on 20 August 2022 launched a Blockchain Centre of Excellence ( CoE ) for airports . It will provide access to the required infrastructure & labs to start – ups for the development & validation of solutions & services .
It will also enable thought leadership , research , & training programs for upskilling in the field of blockchain . GMR Group Founded : 1978. Founder : Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao.

Digital escrow services:

Global escrow banking solution provider Castler has partnered Yes Bank to offer digital escrow services for the bank’s customers .The firm offers domestic and cross – border escrow solutions for individuals and enterprises .
Recently in July , Yes Bank partnered with JC Flowers ARC to form an asset reconstruction company to sell bad loans of the bank valuing 48,000 crore.

International Events:

BIMSTEC:

Tenzin Lekphell , the secretary general of the seven – nation grouping BIMSTEC , is on a four – day visit to India from 22 August 2022 .
Besides India , the BIMSTEC ( Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi – Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation ) comprises Sri Lanka , Bangladesh , Myanmar , Thailand , Nepal and Bhutan .

INS Sumedha:

The Maritime Partnership Exercise ( MPX ) between the navies of India and Australia concluded on 20 August 2022 .
INS Sumedha participated with HMAS Anzac in this exercise . Indian Navy’s INS Sumedha was docked at Perth in Australia to celebrate India’s 76th Independence Day on 15 August 2022 .
Indian Navy also participated in a 5 – day naval exercise ‘ AUSINDEX ‘ with the Australian Navy in 2021.

Greece:

Greece has announced that it has exited the European Union’s ‘ enhanced surveillance ‘ framework . Greece’s economic performance & policies have been closely monitored under the ‘ enhanced surveillance ‘ framework since 2018 .
The surveillance framework was intended to ensure the continued adoption of measures to support sustainable economic growth . Greece PM : Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Capital : Athens.

Sports Events:

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa:

Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa created history by winning three games in a row and defeating reigning five times World chess Champion , Magnus Carlsen at the FTX Crypto Cup , in August 2022 .
In May 2022 , he defeated Magnus Carlsen at the Chessable Masters online rapid chess tournament . Praggnanandhaa , in 2016 became the youngest international master in history at age 10 .

17 – year – old wrestler , Antim Panghal:

17 – year – old wrestler , Antim Panghal on 19 August 2022 became the first Indian woman wrestler to win the Gold medal at the U – 20 World Wrestling Championship in Sofia , Bulgaria.
She defeated Kazakhstan’s Atlyn Shagayeva 8-0 in the finale in the women’s 53kg category . Antim belongs to Haryana’s Hisar district .It was the 45th edition of the U – 20 World Wrestling Championship .