8th August 2023 Daily Current Affairs

Obituaries

Renowned folk singer Gaddar passed away in Hyderabad known for his revolutionary songs.
His contribution to people’s movements in the combined Andhra Pradesh during the peak of the Naxal movement fetched him a cult status among the Telugu-speaking population.
His role in the Telangana agitation cannot be forgotten and his iconic song – Podustunna Poddu Meeda Nadustunna Kaalama Poru Telanganama – was a must in every meeting of the Telangana agitation.

National Affairs

India has handed over INR 450 million in advance to Sri Lanka to fund its unique digital identity project in Aug 2023.
It is the most crucial step in the island nation’s digitalization program being implemented through the Indian grant assistance.
Aims: To collect biographic and biometric information which will be stored in a centralised system to issue identification cards as per the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Honours & Awards

Tamil Nadu bagged the Best Performing State award 2023 in cadaver organ donation .
Unioin Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya presented the Best State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation award to Health Minister Ma Subramanian at the 13th Indian Organ Donation Day function held in New Delhi.
Tamil Nadu leads all Indian states in organ donations with 1,705 people donating their organs and saving 6,247 human lives.

National Affairs

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid the foundation stone for an archeological museum at Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu in August 2023
Objective: To focus on establishing the significance of the archaeological sites identified as part of the cultural landscape of the Thamirabarani valley, not limiting to the site of Adichanallur.
Adichanallur was one of the five archaeological sites declared to be developed as ‘Iconic Sites’ in the Union Budget 2020-21.

Science & Technology

The Indian Space Research Organisation announced the transfer of IMS-1 Satellite Bus technology to Alpha Design Technologies, a Bengaluru-based private company.
The transfer was facilitated by ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Limited through an agreement
The IMS-1 satellite bus was developed by the UR Rao Satellite Centre and is a small satellite platform designed to enable low-cost access to space.
This weighs about 100 kilograms and can carry a 30-kg payload.

Sports

Prarthana Thombare has bagged the doubles title at the women’s tennis hardcourt 2023 event in Spain.
Prarthana and Anastasia Tikhonova, defeat France’s Estelle Cascino and Latvia’s Diana in the final.
It is the second title of the year and 26th overall for Prarthana Siddhant Banthia and Sai Karteek Reddy won their second title this season in ITF men’s event 2023 in Kazakhstan.
They defeated Estonia’s Daniil and Karl Kiur to lift the trophy in the hard-court event.

National & International Appointments

Cyrus Poonawalla Group appointed Keki Mistry as the strategic advisor to all the financial services ventures spearheaded by Adar Poonawalla in Aug 2023.
He has over 4 decades of experience and is one of the most respected professionals in the Indian Financial Services industry.
He served as the chief executive officer and vice chairman of the company after it merged with HDFC Bank Ltd
He is also the Non-Executive Chairman of HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Limited

National Affairs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched work on the redevelopment of 13 railway stations in the State under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Aug 2023.
Out of 508, 13 stations are listed in Karnataka.
Aims: To transform and modernize 1,309 railway stations across the nation and enhance the overall passenger experience and make them world-class travel hubs.
Gov is working to transform the railway stations across the country in line with its vision of ‘Naya Bharat’.

Science & Technology

Direct-to-home (DTH) company Tata Play, formerly known as Tata Sky, plans to increase its bandwidth capacity by 50% by adding 24 new Ku-band transponders on the GSAT-24 communication satellite.
Aim: To offer more channels, services, and improve picture quality.
The GSAT-24 satellite was launched by NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) in June 2022 to specifically cater to Tata Play’s DTH requirements.
NSIL has been tasked with satellite missions on a demand-driven model.

Honours & Awards

Mrunal Thakur was honoured with the Diversity in Cinema Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023.
The recognition comes as she completes a year of having made her debut in South Indian Cinema with Telugu film Sita Ramam (2022)
The award is a recognition of her versatile performances across films of different languages.
The actor, who made her film with “Love Sonia”, and then featured in movies such “Super 30”, “Toofan”, “Jersey”.