1) International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2022: 30 August
•International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is observed globally on the 30th of August every year by United Nations. The day is being observed to express deep concern about the rise in enforced or involuntary disappearances in different regions of the world including the incidents of arrest, detention and abduction. According to the UN, more than 6,000 people were registered as missing in Kosovo since 1999. Hence, the resource centre for missing persons in Kosovo has also been initiated by the UN.
2) National Small Industry Day celebrates on 30th August
•In India, the National Small Industry Day is celebrated on 30 August every year, to support and promote small Industries for their overall growth potential and opportunities received for their development in the year. The day recognises the contribution of small industries to the country’s growth. The day is also an opportunity for the central and state governments to encourage and support small industries. These small businesses offer employment to a large number of people in India.
3) India first time refers to ‘militarisation’ of Taiwan Strait by China
•India has for the first time referred to what it called “the militarization of the Taiwan Strait”, marking a rare instance of New Delhi appearing to comment on China’s actions towards Taiwan. The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka released a statement in which India accused China of “militarizing the Taiwan Strait.”
4) NITI Aayog to establish 500 Atal Tinkering Labs in J&K
•Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and NITI Aayog will be establishing more than 500 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in Jammu and Kashmir to nurture an innovative mindset among high school students. ATL is the flagship initiative of the AIM launched by the Centre to nurture an innovative mindset amongst high school students across India.
•The Atal Tinkering Labs in J&K during which creative students displayed their innovative models and were briefed about the challenges they faced while working on these innovations. The government has directed School Education Department to promote scientific temper among the students in areas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence by proactively engaging them in various experiments and scientific activities.
5) India overtakes China and UK to become world’s 10th largest life insurer
•The most recent report tracking the performance of the industry by Benori Knowledge, a cutting-edge provider of custom research and analytics solutions, highlighted the life insurance sector’s growth at a CAGR of 11% from 2017-2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9% in the following five years. The COVID-19 pandemic’s unpredictability made it more important than ever for customers to spend money on items that would strengthen their financial security, one of which is life insurance.
6) Vajra Prahar 2022: India and USA joint exercise concluded in Himachal Pradesh
•The 13th edition of the India-US joint special forces exercise Vajra Prahar 2022 concluded at Himachal Pradesh’s Bakloh. Special forces from the two countries participated in a 21-day joint training exercise. The joint training provided an opportunity for the forces from both nations to train in airborne operations, special operations and counter-terrorism operations in a joint environment under the United Nations Charter.
7) Beijing Tops, Bengaluru 2nd In Asia-Pacific In Tech Hubs
•Bengaluru ranks second in the Asia Pacific region in the top tech hubs list and is only behind China’s Beijing, according to a report by Cushman and Wakefield. The report, called ‘Tech Cities: The Global Intersection of Talent and Real Estate’, studied as many as 115 different ‘tech cities’ across the globe. After Beijing and Bengaluru, the list has three other Indian cities, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Mumbai and Pune also made it to the top-10 list with eighth and ninth position in a list of 14 cities from the APAC.
8) RBI to release”fraud registry” blacklist with details of Scammers
•To help it keep repeat offenders out of the banking system, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is developing a Fraud Registry blacklist. According to Executive Director Anil Kumar Sharma, the fraud registry would record data such as IP (internet protocol) addresses and phone numbers frequently used to commit fraud. Banks would be able to report these details to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through a mechanism that would be developed. That will assist RBI in stopping these criminals from abusing the financial system to commit fraud after fraud after fraud.
9) AAI and Sweden inks an MoU for sustainable aviation Tech
•At the AAI Corporate Headquarters in New Delhi, the LFV Air Navigation Services of Sweden and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. In order to investigate smart aviation solutions, the agreement netween Sweden and Airports Authority of India (AAI) brings together two air navigation service providers, India and Sweden, who have a track record of developing and implementing the newest generation of environmentally friendly aviation technology.
10) Santosh Iyer to serve as MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India in January 2023
•Santosh Iyer will take over as managing director and chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz (The German luxury automaker) India’s operations on January 1, 2023. Martin Schwenk, who will take over as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz Thailand, will be replaced by Santosh Iyer. Santosh Iyer was appointed vice president of the firm for customer services and retail training in 2016.
11) Miss Diva Universe 2022: Karnataka’s Divita Rai crowned this year
•23-year-old Divita Rai from Karnataka won the prestigious title of Miss Diva Universe 2022. She was crowned by the reigning Miss Universe 2021, Harnaaz Sandhu, at a lavish ceremony that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the coveted pageant. At the 71st Miss Universe pageant, Rai will be representing India, where Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned as the winner last year. Pragnya Ayyagari of Telangana was declared Miss Diva Supranational 2022.
12) Rupee, Sensex Slides On Fed Reserve Hawkish Tone
•After hitting all-time low, the rupee recovered some of its losses to settle 10 paise down at 79.94 (provisional) against the US dollar, tracking the strength of the American currency and firm crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 80.10 and fell to its all-time low of 80.15 against the US dollar in intra-day trade. The local unit finally settled at 79.94 a dollar, down 10 paise over its previous close of 79.84. On July 20, the rupee for the first time closed below the 80-mark at 80.05 against the American currency.
