Latest Current Affairs For Tuesday 16th August, 2022

Shashi Tharoor to receive France’s highest civilian award

Shashi Tharoor (Senior Congress leader) will be conferred with France’s highest civilian award Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur for his writings and speeches.

In 2010, he had received a similar honour from the Spanish government, when the King of Spain had bestowed upon him the Encomienda de la Real Order Espanola de Carlos III.

He is a two-term Lok Sabha MP (Thiruvananthapuram constituency).

Books: The Paradoxical Prime Minister; An Era of Darkness

Veteran stock market investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala passes away

Veteran stock market investor, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (also known as Warren Buffett of India) has been passed away at the age of 62.

He was started his journey in stock markets while still in college with a capital of just 5,000 rupees.

India's newest budget carrier, Akasa Air was one of the business ventures of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.

The airline began commercial operations this month with a maiden flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

Kuwait appoints first ambassador to Iran since 2016

Kuwait has appointed Bader Abdullah Al-Munaikh as an ambassador to Iran since 2016, who has handed his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran.

Foreign Ministry of Kuwait has also confirmed that Munaikh was appointed envoy to Iran.

This move comes as Saudi Arabia works to improve its ties with Iran.

Earlier, Riyadh had broken their ties with Tehran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Iran.

WHO announces new names for variants of monkeypox virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced new names for variants of the monkeypox virus that are currently in circulation.

The former Congo Basin clade (group of variants) in Central Africa as Clade I.

The former West African clade as Clade II.

The latter consists of two sub-clades, Clade IIa and Clade IIb, of which Clade IIb was the main group of variants circulating during the 2022 outbreak.

The monkeypox virus was first discovered in 1958.

Gopal Vittal re-appointed as managing director of Airtel

Shareholders of Bharti Airtel have given their approval for the re-appointment of Gopal Vittal as managing director of Bharti Airtel for a period of five years ( February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2028).

He was re-appointed as the managing director and CEO with effect from February 1, 2018 for a period of 5 years, (upto January 31, 2023).

Fixed pay of Vittal (excluding perquisites) stood at Rs 9.1 crore in 2021-22,in addition to a variable pay component.

World's highest railway bridge 'Golden joint' inaugurated on Chenab in J&K

The World's highest railway bridge 'Golden Joint' has been inaugurated in Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir.

The joints of bridge is connecting two ends of the deck of the world's highest railway bridge.

Chenab Bridge:

This bridge is located in Chenab river, will be 35 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower (after completion of project).

Aim: It will provide direct connectivity to the Kashmir valley.

The Design life of the bridge is at least 120 years.

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.