National & International Appointments
1. Ebrahim Raisi takes over as President of Iran
- Ultra-conservative cleric and judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi has taken over as eighth President of Iran with effect from August 3, 2021.
- He replaced moderate President Hassan Rouhani who was not allowed run for a third consecutive term.
- He won Iranian presidential elections in June with 61.95% of the vote.
- Ebrahim Raisi has also become 1st Iranian president to be sanctioned by US even before assuming office as he was designated in 2019.
- Capital of Iran: Tehran.
Banking & Finance
2. DBS named as World’s most innovative digital bank
- DBS Bank has been awarded as the global winner for Most Innovative in Digital Banking by Financial Times publication, The Banker in its 2021 Innovation in Digital Banking Awards.
- He was also recognised as Asia-Pacific winner and won in the Cyber Security category for its Secure Access and Remote Working Solution.
- Banker’s Innovation in Digital Banking Awards: It recognise the most innovative banks across the world for their digital banking initiatives transformation.
Banking & Finance
3. RBI authorises IndusInd Bank to act as an ‘Agency Bank’
- IndusInd Bank has been empanelled to act as an ‘Agency Bank’ by RBI
- After being an agency bank, IndusInd becomes eligible to carry out transactions related to all kinds of government led businesses
- The Bank can carry out general banking business on behalf of the central and state government, apart from its normal banking business.
- It can handle transactions pertaining to revenue receipts under CBDT, CCBIC and GST on behalf of the state/central government.
National Affairs
4. NITI Aayog and RMI release a report on Power Distribution Sector
- NITI Aayog, along with RMI and RMI India has released report titled as Turning Around the Power Distribution Sector that presents reform pathways that can transform power distribution sector
- As per the report, most power distribution companies in India incur losses every year with total losses as high as Rs 90,000 crore in FY 2021.
- Due to these accumulated losses, discoms are unable to pay generators on time, make investments required to ensure high-quality power
Schemes
5. HDFC Bank launches ‘Dukandar Overdraft Scheme’ for small retailers
- HDFC Bank has launched an overdraft facility for small retailers titled as ‘Dukandar Overdraft Scheme’ to help shopkeepers and merchants in easing their cash crunch.
- It has been launched in partnership with Common Service Centres Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC SPV).
- Eligibility: Retailers operating for a minimum of 3 years.
- Beneficiaries need to provide six months bank statement from any bank.
- Minimum overdraft limit: Rs 50,000.
- Maximum overdraft limit: Rs 10 lakh.
Arts & Culture
6. Sports Minister launches Paralympic Theme Song ‘Kar De Kamaal Tu’
- Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur has launched the theme song for the Indian Paralympic contingent in New Delhi.
- The song is titled as "Kar De Kamaal Tu".
- The singer and composer of the song is Sanjeev Singh (Divyang cricket player from Lucknow).
- Paralympic Games in Tokyo will begin from August 24, 2021 and 54 para-sportspersons across 9 sports disciplines will participate in the same from India.
Sports
7. USA beats Mexico to clinch 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup in Football
- U.S. Men’s National Team has defeated Mexico by 1-0 in extra time, to be crowned champion of the 2021 CONCACAF Football Gold Cup in Las Vegas
- This is the seventh Football Gold Cup title for the USA, their first since 2017.
- CONCACAF Gold Cup: It is the biennial international men’s football championship organized by CONCACAF, the football ruling body in North America, Central American, and Caribbean.
Sports
8. Marcell Jacobs and Elaine Thompson-Herah wins 100m title at Tokyo Olympics
- Italy’s Marcell Jacobs (26 years) has claimed Men’s 100 metres gold title at Tokyo Olympics.
- He achieved the feat in 9.80 seconds, becoming the first Italian to take the most coveted title in athletics
- Fred Kerley (US) won the silver in 9.84 seconds while Andre de Grasse (Canada) took the bronze in 9.89 seconds.
- Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica won Women’s 100 metres title in 10.61 seconds, followed by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson of Jamaica
National & International Organizations
9. IMF approves US$650 Billion allocation of Special Drawing Rights
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved allocation of $650 billion in IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to boost global liquidity
- Aim: To support member countries, especially emerging and developing nations, battling the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn it has caused.
- The allocation will become effective from August 23, 2021.
- The newly created SDRs will be credited to member countries in proportion to their existing quotas shareholding in the Fund.
National & International Organizations
10. Seven Indian companies feature in Fortune Global 500 list for 2021
- Seven Indian companies have been placed in 2021 Fortune’s Global 500 list, which is an annual ranking of the top 500 enterprises globally, as measured by business revenues.
- Indian Companies in the list: Reliance Industries (155th rank), SBI (205), Indian Oil (212), ONGC (243), Rajesh Exports (348), Tata Motors (357), Bharat Petroleum (394)
- Top Global Companies: Walmart (US), State Grid (China), Amazon (US), China National Petroleum (China), Sinopec (China), Apple (US).
National Affairs
11. Defence Secretary launches website for 75th Independence Day celebrations
- Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has launched website for 75th Independence Day Celebrations 2021 (IDC 2021), https://indianidc2021.mod.gov.in as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
- The website is a platform to connect Indians from world over to celebrate the National Festival.
- The mobile app of IDC 2021 platform will be launched in the coming days.
- It will provide all information regarding activities of the celebrations ranging from live streaming of Red Fort to blogs.
Sports
12. Alexander Zverev wins Tennis Men’s Singles Gold at Tokyo Olympics
- Alexander Zverev of Germany (24 years) has defeated Russian Karen Khachanov by 6-3 6-1, to win gold in men’s single tennis at Tokyo Olympics
- With this victory, he has become the first German man to win a singles Olympic gold.
- He is yet to win a Grand Slam title of his career
- He is also the only second German player to win Olympic singles gold, after Steffi Graff won at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
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