20th August 2023 Daily Current Affairs

State Affairs

State-owned NLC India (NLCIL) has inked a pact to supply 300 MW of solar power for 25 years to Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam under the CPSU scheme.
NLCIL is presently having 1,421 MW of Renewable Energy Capacity.
As per its corporate plan, it contemplates establishing a 6,031 MW capacity by 2030.
NLC India has entered into a long-term power usage agreement with Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Limited to supply 300 MW of solar power under the CPSU Scheme in Rajasthan.

National & International Organizations

According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), about 12% of sitting MPs of the Rajya Sabha are billionaires with Andhra Pradesh having the highest percentage of such parliamentarians.
5 (45%) out of 11 MPs are from Andhra Pradesh, 3 (43%) out of 7 MPs are from Telangana, and 3 (16%) out of 19 MPs from Maharashtra.
The ADR and the National Election Watch (NEW) have analyzed and updated the criminal, financial, and other details of Rajya Sabha MPs.

Sports

The duo of Indian shooters, Esha Singh and Shiva Narwal, won the gold medal at the 10m air pistol mixed event in the final of the ISSF World Championship 2023 at Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Indian duo defeated the Turkish pair of Ilayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikec 16-10 in the final match.
Presently, India placed second on the medals table with a gold and a bronze medal, while China is leading the tally with five gold and two bronze medals.

National & International Appointments

The government has approved the appointment of Kamlesh Varshney and Amarjeet Singh as SEBI Whole-Time Members.
Kamlesh Varshney, a 1990-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service, is a joint secretary at the revenue department in the Finance Ministry.
Amarjeet Singh is an executive director at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Both have been appointed for three years from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders.

The union cabinet approved ‘PM-eBus Sewa’ for augmenting city bus operations under which 10,000 e-buses will be deployed across cities in the country.
Aim: To improve public transport in cities and is also in line with India’s objectives concerning climate change
Rs 57,613 crores will be spent on this project and around 10,000 new electric buses will be provided across the country.
Under this scheme, priority will be given to cities not having organized bus services.

Honours & Awards

The Matti banana variety, native to Kanniyakumari district was recently granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
There are six known types of the Matti banana and they are indigenous to Kanniyakumari.
They are known as ‘Baby Banana’ which flourishes mainly in Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks.
Its low total soluble solids content (TSSC) recommends it as a baby food.
This GI tag is valid for 10 years following which it can be renewed.

National & International Organizations

The WHO South-East Asia Region committed to further accelerate efforts to end tuberculosis by 2030 with member countries adopting the Gandhinagar Declaration.
The South-East Asia Region bears a disproportionate burden of nearly half of the global TB cases and deaths.
The Declaration calls for establishing a high-level multi-sectoral commission reporting to the highest political level in each country for synergy of efforts among various stakeholders.

Banking & Finance

Rating agency Moody’s has affirmed a BAA3 rating on India and maintained a ‘stable’ outlook on the Indian economy.
The Baa3 rating and stable outlook also take into account a curtailment of civil society and political dissent, compounded by rising domestic political risk.
India’s long-term local and foreign-currency issuer ratings and the local-currency senior unsecured rating remain at Baa3.
While the other short-term local-currency rating stands at P-3.

State Affairs

The Maharashtra cabinet decided to implement the Bhagwan Birsa Munda Jodaraste Scheme in Maharashtra to connect all tribal villages in 17 districts of the state with main roads.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 5,000 crore and nearly 6,838 km of roads will be constructed as part of the scheme.
In the Budget Session, Deputy CM and Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the implementation of the scheme to connect all the tribal padas by perennial roads

Agreement

India and Trinidad and Tobago have recently entered into a significant partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share the renowned INDIA STACK technology.
This collection of open APIs and digital public goods, pioneered by India, is designed to enhance identity, data, and payment services on a large scale.
This move reflects India’s commitment to aiding the digital transformation of nations through collaboration and technology sharing.