Current Affairs Quiz 26th August 2022 : Daily GK Update

Exp. Google announced a programme for 100,000 developers in India

Google has announced a campaign to upskill cyber security researchers and developers in India.

The campaign will be part of the company’s Cyber Security Roadshow, which will cover multiple cities across India and offer tools, tutorials, and mentorship on security practices for building consumer apps, as well as enterprise programmes.

The upskilling programme will target 1 lakh developers in India and will cover two broad divisions within the programme – Android and Google Cloud.

About Google

• Founded – 1998
• Founders – Larry Page and Sergey Brin
• Headquarters – Mountain View, California, US
• CEO – Sundar Pichai

Exp. South Korea breaks its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate

South Korea has once again shattered its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate.

South Korean women were estimated, based on 2021 data, to have an average of just 0.81 children over their lifetimes, down from 0.84 a year earlier.

The number of newborns declined in 2021 to 260,600, which equates to about 0.5% of the population.

According to the United Nations’ global population projections and World Bank’s data, the report further stated that Korea is the world’s fastest-ageing nation among economies with a per capita GDP of at least $30,000. By 2100, its population will fall by 53% to 24 million, up from a 43% decline forecast in 2019.

About South Korea

• Capital – Seoul
• Currency – South Korean Won
• Prime Minister – Han Duck-soo
• President – Yoon Seok-youl

Exp. EAM Dr. S Jaishankar attended 8th India-Brazil Joint Commission Meeting

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar co-chaired the 8th India-Brazil Joint Commission Meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Franca in Brasilia.

Jaishankar also signed agreements in the fields of broadcasting and taxation with the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Carlos Franca, and exchanged views on BRICS, IBSA, UN, G20, and the Ukraine conflict.

The comprehensive discussions covered trade and investments, petroleum, biofuels, edible oils and minerals, health, pharma, etc.

About Brazil

• Capital- Brasília
• Currency- Brazilian real
• President– Jair Bolsonaro

Exp. PNB launched Pre-Qualified Credit Card facility

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched its pre-qualified credit card which also includes insurance coverage.

It has also introduced a new facility of overdraft against fixed deposit on PNB One in a few clicks and a single OTP (one-time password).

This card facility will be available for salary account customers and they will be able to apply through PNB One or the website.

There is a concession of 0.25% on the interest rate when applied through digital platforms like PNB One.

The bank will offer this service through two payment gateways RuPay and Visa.

About Punjab National Bank (PNB)

• Founded – 12 April 1894
• Founder – Dyal Singh Majithia and Lala Lajpat Rai
• Headquarters – New Delhi
• MD & CEO – Atul Kumar Goel
• Tagline – The Name You can Bank Upon
• Punjab National Bank Merge – (Oriental Bank of Commerce & United Bank of India)

Exp. KreditBee partnered with Cashfree to offer EMI solutions

Fintech platform KreditBee has partnered with API banking solutions company Cashfree Payments to offer customers an option to convert their online purchases into EMIs at the time of checkout itself for non-credit card holders.

The checkout finance loans range from Rs 2,400 to Rs 2 lakhs with a tenure of 3-18 months.

KreditBee is currently offering personal loans and a digital gold investment product.

Recent MoUs

• Mastercard partnered with BASIX to create an agri-tech platform for farmers
• Castler partnered with Yes Bank for digital escrow services
• Axis Bank signed an MoU with FCI to provide “Ultima Salary Package”
• Yes Bank partnered with SellerApp to facilitate adoption of ONDC
• Paytm partnered with Piramal Finance to offer loans

Exp. HDFC Bank partnered with Tata Neu to launch two new credit cards

HDFC Bank has partnered with Tata Neu to launch two new credit cards.

The card will be launched in two variants – Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank Credit Card and Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card.

Tata Neu customers can apply for the credit card on the Tata Neu app and access its key details. Each of the two variants of the card will be available on both RuPay and Visa networks.

The card will enable customers to earn rewards on all spends, both online and in-store in the form of NeuCoins.(1 NeuCoin = one rupee)

About HDFC Bank

• Founded – August 1994
• Founder – Hasmukhbhai Parekh
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO – Sashidhar Jagdishan
• Tagline – We understand your world

Recent Agreements

• Axis Bank signed an MoU with FCI to provide “Ultima Salary Package”
• Yes Bank partnered with SellerApp to facilitate adoption of ONDC
• Paytm partnered with Piramal Finance to offer loans
• IDFC FIRST Bank partnered with LetsVenture to support startups
• HDFC Bank partnered with M1xchange for Trade receivables Discounting System (TReDs)
• Indian Bank signed an MoU with SRM University-AP for starts up

Exp. Universal Sompo partnered with Repco Home Finance to insure loans

Non-life Insurer Universal Sompo General Insurance has partnered with Chennai-based Repco Home Finance Ltd to offer insurance against home loans.

This partnership will, additionally, disburse affordable insurance solutions from Universal Sompo General Insurance like Group Credit Protection, Long-Term Fire, and Personal Accident policies to Repco’s customers.

According to the agreement, the partnership would see over 155 branches and 24 satellite centres of Repco Home Finance in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Puducherry offer customized general insurance products to its customers.

Recent Agreements

• SVC Bank signed an agreement with SIDBI for empowering MSMEs
• Airbus signed an agreement with GMR Group for aircraft maintenance engineering
• Blockchain network 5ire signed an MoU with Goa Police to implement a smart policing solution
• IISc Bengaluru signed an MoU with Indian Navy for collaborative aviation research
• Reliance, Ola and Rajesh Exports signed an agreement for battery manufacturing

Exp. Sourav Ganguly appointed as its first brand ambassador DreamSetGo

DreamSetGo, a sports experiences and travel platform, has announced Sourav Ganguly as its first brand ambassador.

Founded in 2019, DreamSetGo is solving a specific problem – access to worldwide sporting events and experiences for fans.

The startup is focused on delivering seamless, end-to-end, world-class personalized experiences for sports fans in India, giving them an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the sport.

As the “Supercaptain” for the company, he will promote its curated experiences offered through its key partnerships with Manchester City, Chelsea FC, etc.

Recent Brand Ambassador

• Vaani Kapoor – Noise X-Fit 2 smartwatch
• Ravi Shastri – FanCode
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni – Garuda Aerospace
• Robin Uthappa – Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (Ka-BHI)
• Shubman Gill & Ruturaj Gaikwad – My11Circle
• Rishabh Pant – Dish TV India
• Jhulan Goswami -All Women Match Official Team
• Rishabh Pant – Uttarakhand’s brand ambassador
• Jasprit Bumrah- Unix
• Ravindra Jadeja – Kinara Capital
• Smriti Mandhana – IIT Madras incubated startup, GUVI
• Saurav Ganguly – Century LED
• Rahul Dravid – PLAETO

Exp. Samir V. Kamat appointed as Chirman of DRDO

Distinguished Scientist Dr. Samir V Kamat has been appointed as the new chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Kamat will succeed Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy who has been appointed as Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister.

Earlier, Dr. Kamat was Director General of Naval Systems & Materials at DRDO since July 2017.

Dr. Reddy was appointed to the present post in August 2018 and prior to that has served as the Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister.

About Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)

• Founded – 1 January 1958
• Headquarters – New Delhi
• Motto – “Strength’s Origin is in Knowledge”
• Chairman – Samir V Kamat

Recent Appointments

• NDDB Chairman – Meenesh Shah (extend 6 months)
• Director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII) – Debasisa Mohanty

• DCGI chief – VG Somani (for 3 months)
• First woman Director General of CSIR – Nallathamby Kalaiselvi
• Central Vigilance Commissioner – Suresh N Patel
• Additional charge of DG of ITBP – Sujoy Lal Thaosen
• Delhi police commissioner – Sanjay Arora
• Principal DG of PIB – Satyendra Prakash

Exp. K Subramanian appointed as Executive Director for India at IMF

Former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Krishnamurti Subramanian has been appointed as India’s Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

His term will begin from November 2022 & will continue for a period of 3 years.

Subramanian was the youngest CEA in the finance ministry between 2018 and 2021.

He will succeed Surjit Bhalla, the current Executive Director for India at IMF up to 31 October 2022

Bhalla was appointed as the Executive Director for India on the board of the IMF in 2019. He succeeded former RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn, who died in the US on 30 July after a brief illness.

About International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• Founded – 1945
• Headquarters- Washington, D.C.
• Managing Director – Kristalina Georgieva (Bulgaria)
• First Deputy MD – Gita Gopinath
• Chief Economist – Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (France)
• Member countries – 190 (Andorra)
• IMF Released Report –

Global Financial Stability Report

World Economic Outlook 

Recent Appointment

• Deputy President of FIDE – Viswanathan Anand
• Chief Economist of World Bank – Indermit Gill
• Interim CEO of NLMC – Sanjay Kumar Jain
• Acting president of FIH – Egypt’s Seif Ahmed
• Whole time Member of IBBI – Jayanti Prasad
• President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – Alvaro Lario

Exp. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be conferred with Liberty Medal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be conferred with the Liberty Medal 2022.

The National Constitution Center has announced that Zelenskyy will be honored in a ceremony in October 2022 for his heroic defense of liberty in the face of Russian tyranny.

The Liberty Medal was established in 1988 to mark the U.S. Constitution’s bicentennial.

It is presented to individuals who strive to secure the blessings of liberty for people around the globe.

Zelenskyy, who has served as the nation’s president since May 2019, has also been the recipient of awards such as the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award and the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award as well as honors from the governments of the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia.

About Ukraine

• Capital- Kyiv
• Currency – Hryvnia
• President – Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Prime Minister – Denys Shmyhal

Recent Awards

• Pulitzer Prize 2022 in Illustrated Reporting – Fahmida Azim (Bangladesh)
• Miss India USA 2022 – Indian Origin Aarya Walvekar (Virginia)
• First Indian psychologist on US Heritage Wall of Fame – Prof Ramadhar Singh
• ‘dPal rNgam Duston’ award (the highest civilian honour of Ladakh) – Dalai Lama
• Vice-President presents the ‘President’s Colours’ to Tamil Nadu Police
• Global Energy Prize 2022 – Indian-Origin Professor Kaushik Rajashekara

Exp. Angela Merkel awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize 2022

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has been awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize 2022 for “her efforts to welcome refugees”.

In 2015, as refugees were streaming into Europe, Merkel opened her country’s borders and famously declared to Germans “We can do this.”

This prize, also known as the Felix Houphout-Boigny-UNESCO Peace Prize, has been awarded each year since 1989 to individuals, and organizations that have made a special effort to promote peace.

Recent Awards

• UAE honoured Kamal Haasan by granting him Golden Visa
• Mother Teresa Memorial Award by the Maharashtra govt. – Dia Mirza & Afroz Shah
• Mrs Universe Divine Crown in South Korea – Pallavi Singh (India)
• Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star award by Japan Govt. – Narayanan Kumar VC of Sanmar Group
• CII Quality Ratna Awards 2021 – Ashok Soota
• Shiromani Award at NRI World Summit 2022 – Michelle Poonawalla

Exp. VVS Laxman named India’s Interim Head Coach for Asia Cup 2022

VVS Laxman has been named the interim head coach for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 to be played in the UAE.

He will oversee the team’s preparation in the absence of Rahul Dravid, who tested positive for COVID-19.

Laxman was named the NCA chief recently after Rahul Dravid vacated the post in November in 2021.

Earlier, he was named head coach for the Ireland-bound Indian side which was captained by Hardik Pandya.

Exp. Former VP M Venkaiah Naidu launched a book ‘New India’

Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has released a book titled ‘New India: Selected Writings 2014-19. The book has been published by Juggernaut.

It is a compilation of selected articles of former Union Minister and Padma Vibhushan Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019.

24 August 2022 marked his death anniversary.

Recent Books

• ‘Bibi: My Story – Benjamin Netanyahu’s Autobiography
• Field Guide, Birds of India’ – published by ZSI
• Dilip Kumar: In the Shadow of a Legend – Faisal Farooqui
• Beyond The Misty Veil, Temple Tales of Uttarakhand’ book released – Aradhana Johri
• The McMahon line- A century of discord – former Chief of Army Staff General JJ Singh (Retd).
• The Winning Formula for Success – Vinit Karnik

Exp. 24 August – Independence Day of Ukraine

Independence Day of Ukraine is celebrated on 24 August in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence of 1991.

Ukraine is the second largest European country after Russia.

The Soviet Union dissolved in the 1990s and on July 16, 1990, the Ukrainian government declared state sovereignty.

US President Joe Biden announced $2.98 billion in military aid to Kyiv, on the occasion.

Exp. 23 August to 1 September 2022 – World Water Week 2022

The World Water Week 2022 is being organized from 23 August to 1 September.

World Water Week is meant to explore new ways of mitigating the challenges of water scarcity and to tackle the water crisis and its links to problems of health, food security, biodiversity and climate change.

The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has organized World Water Week to transform the global water challenges.

Theme 2022 – Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water

There will be six main sessions held from August 23 to September 1.

World Water Week conference has been held every year since 1991.

World Water Day 2022 – 22 March