General Knowledge & Current Affairs
August 2022 - 15th to 21st
- Partition Horrors Remembrance Day observed in India on August 14
- GALLANTRY AWARDS
– 107 gallantry awards approved for personnel of armed forces & CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces)
– 3 Kirti Chakras: Naik Devendra Pratap Singh (Army), Constable Sudip Sarkar (BSF)-posthumous, Sub-inspector Paotinsat Guite (BSF)-posthumous
– 13 Shaurya Chakras
– 2 Bar to Sena medals
– 81 Sena Medals
– 1 Nao Sena Medal
– 7 Vayu Sena medals - POLICE MEDALS
– 1,082 police personnel receive service medals
– Number of police personnel who received gallantry medals: 347 - Independence Day: Delhi Lt Governor V. K. Saxena dedicates 16 parks renamed in honour of unsung heroes
- AP: 30-feet tall mural statue of Mahatma Gandhi unveiled in Vijayawada by Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan
- Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urges citizens to participate in Citizen Survey for National Curriculum Framework
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses plenary session of Moscow Conference on International Security-2022 virtually
- Centre launches Paalan 1000 National Campaign to reduce child mortality
- Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu launches pilot drone service project ‘Medicine from The Sky’
- J&K: Kashmiri Pandit shot dead in militant attack at Shopian
- J&K: 4 ITBP personnel killed in bus accident on Chandanwari-Pahalgam route
- India has 18 of the 20 cities in the world with the most severe increase in fine particle pollutants (PM2.5) from 2010 to 2019, says report published by US-based Health Effects Institute (HEI)
- PM attends special screening of Doordarshan-produced serial-’Swaraj: Bharat Ke Swatantrata Sangram ki Samagra Gatha’
- Assam govt starts Vidya Rath-School on Wheels project to provide elementary education to children of poor families
- Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal launches ‘Make India No. 1’ mission to focus on education, health
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks to President Emmanuel Macron of France on phone
- 9th India-Thailand Joint Commission Meeting concludes in Bangkok; Indian delegation led by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar
- India supplies nearly 60% of vaccines used worldwide: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
- India’s first portal on arrested narcotics offenders ‘NIDAAN’ (National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders) gets operational
- National Security Strategies Conference held in New Delhi on August 17-18; Home Minister Amit Shah launches National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS), developed by NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau)
- National Security Adviser Ajit Doval meets Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in Moscow
- Madras HC orders issuance of no caste, no religion certificate to student
- Goa becomes first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified State for providing access to safe drinking water through tap connection to all rural households
- 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held at Indore (MP) on January 9
- Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla gets one more year in service, his third extension
- Punjab & Haryana agree to rename Chandigarh International Airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh
- India, Australia conclude Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) near Perth
- Scotland museum signs deal to return seven ancient artefacts to India
- Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal visits Chabahar Port in Iran to review work progress
- Former Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi passes away in Lucknow
- Egypt releases postage stamp on 75th Anniversary of diplomatic ties with India
- Egypt: Electrical fire kills 41 at Coptic church in Cairo
- India hands over Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft to Sri Lanka Navy
- Bangladesh observed National Mourning Day on August 15, 2022
- Kenya: Deputy President William Ruto elected next President
- China not allowed to use Hambantota Port for military purposes: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe
- India contributes four lakh US dollars to Voluntary Trust Funds for support United Nations Human Rights
- Hollywood Director Wolfgang Petersen dies in Los Angeles at 81; known for films “Das Boot”, “In the Line of Fire” and “Troy”
- Israel, Turkey agree to reinstate diplomatic relations
- World Humanitarian Day observed on August 19
- World Photography Day celebrated on August 19
- 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference being held in Halifax, Canada from August 20-26
- Indian Air Force participating in multi-national Exercise Pitch Black 2022 in Australia
- Smoking, alcohol, high BMI (high body mass index) main causes of global cancer deaths: Lancet
- Russia to allow UN officials to visit and inspect Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex in Ukraine
- Veteran stock market investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala dies at 62 in Mumbai; launched airline Akasa Air recently
- Shareholders approve Ashishkumar Chauhan appointment as NSE MD, CEO
- Govt. unveils Manthan platform for better collaboration between industry and research institutes
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hands over indigenously-developed equipment and systems to the Army; includes ‘Future Infantry Soldier as a System’ and new generation anti-personnel mine ‘Nipun’
- National Health Authority announces performance-based fund allocation to states, UTs for strengthening registries of healthcare professionals, health facilities
- Wholesale price inflation in July eases to lowest in five months at 13.93%
- SBI launches its first dedicated branch to support start-ups in Bengaluru
- Cabinet approves interest subvention of 1.5% per annum on Short Term Agriculture Loan upto Rs 3 lakh
- Cabinet has approved enhancement of limit of ECLGS (Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme) by Rs. 50,000 cores for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality sector
- Cabinet approves providing access of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library database to users including patent applicants and researchers
- 10th Edition of Asian Textiles Conference TEXCON held in New Delhi
- Indian Railways tests its heaviest and longest goods train ‘Super Vasuki’; 3.5-km-long freight train had 295 loaded wagons
- PSU ONGC signs agreement with petroleum MNC ExxonMobil Corp for deepwater exploration in India’s East and West coasts
- Foodgrain production estimated to be record 315.72 million tonnes in 2021-22 crop year (July-June), up by 4.98 MT
- DoT allocates spectrum to telecom operators, paving way for launch of 5G services
- Solar capacity installations in the country rose by 59% to 7.2 gigawatt (GW) during first half of 2022: Mercom India
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to set up office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to promote its products and services in South East Asia
- DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) chief Venugopal Somani’s tenure extended by 3 months
- Kerala launches Kerala Savari – India’s first online taxi aggregator service owned by a state government
- Country’s foreign exchange reserves fell $2.238 billion to $570.74 billion in the week ended August 12,
- Restaurants can continue to levy service charge for now, says Delhi HC
- RBI cautions govt. against big bang privatisation of PSU banks, saying that it may do more harm than good
- Centre bars 13 states from power exchanges over non-payment of dues to generation companies
- Govt hikes windfall profit tax on export of diesel to Rs 7 per litre from Rs 5 a litre
- Govt launches 2nd phase of Grameen Udyami Project to promote skill development and entrepreneurship amongst tribal youth
- UNITED STATES
Sir Salman Rushdie was reported to be “feisty” and “defiant” following surgery for injuries he sustained after being stabbed multiple times at an event in Chautauqua, a town in western New York. In 1989 Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s leader at the time, called on Muslims to kill Sir Salman for writing “The Satanic Verses”, a book the Shia cleric considered blasphemous. - CUBA
For the first time since the Communist revolution in 1959, the Cuban government said it would allow foreign investors to participate fully in wholesale retailing, and would “selectively” encourage foreigners to invest in ordinary retailing, as long as they comply with socialist aims. Cubans endure long queues for basic goods when they use the state-owned shops. - KENYA
William Ruto, the deputy president who ran as the anti-establishment candidate and champion of the poor, was declared the winner of Kenya’s presidential election by a narrow margin, defeating Raila Odinga, who disputes the result. Four of the seven election commissioners also disavowed the result, but gave scant justification for doing so. - MYANMAR
A court in Myanmar added another six years to the various prison sentences imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s leader until a military coup last year. That brings her total sentence to 17 years, which she is serving in solitary confinement. - SOUTH KOREA
Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s president, granted a pardon to Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s de facto boss, for corruption, clearing the way for him to rejoin its board. Lee was jailed for 18 months before being released on parole for his part in a bribery scandal
that led to the downfall of Park Geun-hye as president in 2017. - PAKISTAN
Two policemen who were guarding polio vaccinators in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were shot dead. Local polio vaccination teams are often targeted by anti-vaccine militants, some of whom claim vaccination is a Western plot to sterilise Muslims. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio, which in severe cases can be fatal or leave patients paralysed, remains endemic. - UKRAINE
Ukrainian saboteurs attacked another Russian ammunition depot in Crimea, the latest in a series of assaults far behind Russia’s front lines. Both sides blamed each other for heavy shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. The UN has called for a demilitarised zone in the area to avert a nuclear disaster. - FINLAND
Finland decided to reduce the number of visas it issues to Russians to a tenth of the current total in order to stop Russians using Helsinki airport as a gateway to European holiday spots. Ukraine wants the EU to ban Russian tourists altogether. - CHINA
China conducted fresh military drills around Taiwan as the island’s president met members of an American congressional delegation. The drills were not as big as those held by China earlier this month after Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of America’s House of Representatives, visited Taiwan, which China claims. - MEXICO
Thousands of federal troops were sent to border cities in northern Mexico, after a drug cartel threatened to attack residents if they did not stay home amid a feud sparked by the attempted arrest of one of its leaders. Tijuana practically shut down for two days.
- FIFA suspends All India Football Federation (AIFF) due to undue influence from third parties
- Delhi HC orders appointment of Committee of Administrators (CoA) to take over affairs of Indian Olympic Association
- 131st edition of Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, starts in Kolkata
- India (192/0 in 30.5) beat Zimbabwe (189/10 in 40.3) by 10 wickets in Harare to take 1-0 lead in 3-match ODI series
- India (167/5 in 25.4) beat Zimbabwe (161/10 in 38.1) by 5 wickets in 2nd ODI at Harare
- Former India football team captain Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee dies at 92 in Kolkata
- Manisha Kalyan becomes first Indian footballer to play in UEFA Women’s Champions League
