Daily & Latest Current Affairs in 2026

Correct Answer :   Keki Mistry

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Cyrus Poonawalla Group, a diversified group of businesses across sectors like pharmaceuticals, finance, clean energy, hospitality, and more, on Monday (7th August 2023) said that it has appointed Keki Mistry, former HDFC Ltd's CEO & Vice Chairman, as the strategic advisor to all the financial services ventures spearheaded by Adar Poonawalla.

According to a press release by the company, Mistry, with over 4 decades of experience, is one of the most respected professionals in the Indian Financial Services industry. He had served as the CEO and Vice Chairman of HDFC Ltd from 2010 till its merger with the HDFC Bank Ltd.

I am happy to share some news with our stakeholders and shareholders; today the highly respected Keki Mistry, with decades of experience in the financial sector, joins our group as strategic advisor to our financial services vertical. https://t.co/ExO9284Aq1

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) August 7, 2023

Post its merger with HDFC Bank, Mistry joined the bank as an Additional & Non- Executive Director (Non-Independent) on 30th June 2023. He is also the Non-Executive Chairman of HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Limited..

Source : Business Today

Correct Answer :   6 August 2023

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Renowned folk singer Gaddar died at the age of 77 in Hyderabad on Sunday (6th August 2023). Gaddar passed away at a private hospital while undergoing treatment for a heart-related ailment.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to the folk singer and said he was saddened to hear about his death.

Rahul Gandhi said, “Saddened to hear about the demise of Shri Gummadi Vittal Rao, Telangana’s iconic poet, balladeer and fiery activist. His love for the people of Telangana drove him to fight tirelessly for the marginalised. May his legacy continue to inspire us all."

Gaddar passed away at 3 pm, according to the Apollo Hospital release. “Shri Gummadi Vittal alias Gaddar aged 77, passed away at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Ameerpet, today at 3 pm, due to lungs and urinary problems and advanced age."

It said that Gaddar was suffering from severe heart disease and was admitted to the hospital on July 20. "He was suffering from severe heart disease and got admitted on July 20th, 2023. He underwent a bypass surgery on August 3rd, 2023 and recovered from it," the hospital release said.

He is a past patient of lung and urinary problems, which along with advanced age aggravated and led to his passing away, the release stated.

Congress, in a statement, said, “The death of Gaddar, who has been fighting tirelessly for the people for decades, is a great loss for the people of Telangana. Revanth Reddy called on the Congress ranks as a sign of condolence for Gaddar's death. The Congress ranks should pay tribute by putting up Gaddar's portraits on the main roads in all mandal centres."

BJP leader Etala Rajender also expressed deep shock over the death of Gaddar, saying his death was a great loss for Telangana. "His struggle for Telangana is unforgettable. Even if he is not physically present, his song will live on forever," Etala Rajender said.

Etala Rajender condoled the death of Gaddar and expressed his deepest condolences to the family members of Gaddar..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Tamil Nadu

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Tamil Nadu bagged the Best Performing State award 2023 in cadaver organ donation .

Tamil Nadu leads all Indian states in organ donations with 1,705 people donating their organs and saving 6,247 human lives.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Thursday (3 August 2023) said growing awareness and transparent policy were among the reasons that made the state win the best-performing state award in organ donation.

Since 2008, 1,705 people in Tamil Nadu donated their organs facilitating 786 heart, 801 lung, 1,565 liver and 3,046 kidney transplants, 37 pancreases, besides small intestines and other organs, benefitting 6,247 recipients, he said.

Subramanian said this after receiving the award along with Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi from Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi.

The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) award was presented at the 13th Indian Organ Donation Day (IODD) ceremony meant to felicitate the donor families.


MK Stalin :

“Much of the success of organ donation is due to the high awareness levels in the state. Even our Chief Minister M K Stalin and his wife have pledged to donate their organs,” the Health Minister told the media in Chennai.

About 40 government hospitals and 120 private hospitals across Tamil Nadu have been provided organ harvest licenses. Transplants were performed even under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, he said..

Source : The Federal

Correct Answer :   INR 450 million

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Colombo, India has handed over INR 450 million in advance to Sri Lanka to fund its unique digital identity project, the most crucial step in the island nation's digitalisation programme being implemented through the Indian grant assistance.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office here said that the fund from the government of India was given on Friday (4th August 2023).

During a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat, key stakeholders, including Presidential Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff, Sagala Ratnayaka, State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath, Indian High Commissioner, Gopal Bagley, and First Secretary of the Indian High Commission, Eldos Mathew and others engaged in extensive discussions on the project's execution..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   ₹ 16,884 Crore

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The State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday (4th August 2023) reported its highest-ever quarterly profit at ₹ 16,884 crore in the April-June quarter of 2023-24 -- a nearly three-fold jump over ₹ 6,068 crore in the year-ago period -- buoyed by a steep fall in bad loans and higher interest income.

On a consolidated basis, the bank's net income soared more than two-fold to ₹ 18,537 crore in the quarter from ₹ 7,325 crore a year ago. Total income was ₹ 1,32,333 crore in the period as against ₹ 94,524 crore in the April-June quarter of 2022-23.

On a sequential basis, some of the key numbers such as margins and net interest income showed marginal deterioration while loan loss provisions more than doubled, leading to SBI shares tanking nearly 3 per cent on bourses. This had an upset chairman Dinesh Khare opening his earnings address, wondering aloud why the markets and analysts look only at sequential numbers.

"For a bank, the first quarter is unique as most institutions hold back pay-outs or pay-ins to the last quarter of the fiscal year. In our case in the Q4 of FY23, we had ₹ 830 crore of interest income from a tax refund plus there are various other one-off gains, while in the first quarter has none of them at all.

"So a fair comparison is and should be annualised and not sequential; for other quarters I wouldn't mind a sequential comparison," the chairman told reporters at his headquarters here.

The bank counter, which has the highest market value among all the nearly three dozen central enterprises, closed 2.94 per cent down at ₹ 573.25 on the BSE after hitting a low of ₹ 571.50 intra-day with a market cap of ₹ 5.27 lakh crore.

In the March 2023 quarter (Q4FY23), the bank had booked ₹ 16,695 crore of net income, which on a sequential basis is only 1.14 per cent growth in the reporting quarter.

The bank's total income rose to ₹ 1,08,039 crore in the first quarter as against ₹ 74,989 crore. Of this, interest income printed in at ₹ 95,975 crore, 32.06 per cent more than the year-ago period, and the key net interest income clipped at 24.71 per cent to ₹ 38,905 crore, Mr Khare said..

Source : NDTV

Correct Answer :   Manik Saha

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Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha on Saturday (5th August 2023) launched state-level Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 5.0, the vaccine catch-up campaign, which focuses on reaching zero-dose children aged between 0 and 5 years and pregnant women who might have missed any vaccine doses in the national immunization schedule.

Addressing the inauguration programme at Kailasahar in Unakoti district of the state on Saturday (5th August 2023), the Chief Minister Dr. Saha said, “The Tripura government is contemplating to strengthen the district hospitals so as to reduce the pressure on Agartala GBP hospital.”

Dr. Saha, who also holds the health portfolio, said that the government in its budget this year has allocated Rs. 59 Crore for ‘Mukhyamantri Jan Arogya Yojna’ to cater the medical needs of the people of the state.

He also said that the government will open drug de-addiction centres in all the districts of the state in collaboration with AIMS. On a different note, Chief Minister Dr. Saha said that there have been several incidents reported from various corners of the state, where the doctors were assaulted. He said, “Attacks on doctors and health workers in hospitals can adversely affect the health care service.

Doctors should be trusted and respected, as they always strive to give their best in the service of patients.”

Dr. Saha however underlined the achievements of the BJP-led coalition government in the health sector and said that the government is committed to render quality health care to the people of the state and contemplating to establish better infrastructure to reduce patients’ movement to abroad.

With the launching of the IMI 5.0, the state of Tripura has set a target of full immunization during the three months long drive for vaccination.

The first round of the vaccination drive of the IMI 5.0 will be held from August 7 to 12, second round from September 11 to 16 and the third round from October 9 to 14.

During these three rounds, children of 0-5 years age group and pregnant women, who have missed any dose of vaccine as per National Immunization Schedule (NIS), will be vaccinated..

Source : Tripur

Correct Answer :   ₹1.39 lakh crore

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The Union Cabinet has approved a last-mile broadband connectivity plan for 6.4 lakh villages across the country under the BharatNet project with an outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore, according to sources.

Around 1.94 lakh villages have been connected under the BharatNet project at present, and the balance is likely to be connected in two and a half years, they added.

"The Cabinet in its meeting, held on Friday (4th Aug 2023) evening, has approved Rs 1,39,579 crore for providing last mile optical fibre-based connectivity to homes in all villages of the country," one of the sources said.

The last-mile connectivity will be provided by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), an arm of state-owned BSNL, in partnership with village level entrepreneur (VLE).

"The model to take fibre-to-the-home, with the help of a local entrepreneur, was finalised after the successful completion of a pilot project. The pilot project was initially carried out to connect villages in four districts and then expanded to 60,000 villages across most states," as per sources.

Customer premise equipment and additional fibre required for connecting homes are provided by BBNL, and local entrepreneurs have been tasked with maintaining the network.

"Around 3,800 entrepreneurs were involved in the pilot project that was carried out for 60,000 villages, who provided 3.51 lakh broadband connections. Average data consumption per household has been recorded to the tune of 175 gigabytes per month," one of the sources said.

The project is being rolled on a 50 per cent revenue-sharing basis between BBNL and VLE, and the monthly broadband plan price starts from Rs 399 onward.

According to sources, there are 37 lakh route kilometres (rkm) of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) laid in the country, out of which BBNL has laid 7.7 lakh rkm..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Russia

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A joint venture between public sector company Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) and Russian engineering company Metrowagonmash is on course to manufacture and supply around 120 Vande Bharat trains to Indian Railways, at a cost of ₹120 crore per train.

The blue-and-white trains, with AC sleeper coaches, are expected to be manufactured at a railway factory in Latur, Maharashtra.

The RVNL wants a larger share of 69%, leaving 26% for Metrowagonmash and 5% for a third partner, Locomotive Electronic Systems.

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   Rajnath Singh

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The 132nd edition of Durand Cup kicked off in Kokrajhar, Assam on August 05, 2023. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh graced the opening ceremony, which marked the grand beginning of the annual football competition for the first time in the Assamese city. The tournament is organised by the Armed Forces and supported by the Government of Assam.

Addressing the enthusiastic crowd at the Sai Stadium, the Raksha Mantri complimented the efforts of the Armed Forces and Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) for creating a positive environment in Kokrajhar which resulted in the event being organised in the city for the first time.

He commended the people of the Northeast for their excitement and love for football, terming ‘the beautiful game’ as not just a sport, but an emotion. Stating that Assam has produced many football talents in recent times, Shri Rajnath Singh exuded confidence that the Durand Cup will encourage the youth to join the sport with renewed vigour.

Assam Chief Minister Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke at length about the rich sports culture of the region and extended his best wishes to all participating teams. He thanked the Indian Army for organising the tournament in Kokrajhar and appreciated the efforts of BTC for its assistance.

The opening ceremony was witnessed by nearly 12,000 football fans from across the state and the region. Main attractions of the ceremony included a flypast by Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft and Mi-17 helicopter, martial displays, Gatka and Bhangra along with the display of Bodo cultural dance by the local troupe.

Minister of Power, Sports and Youth Welfare, Cooperation & ITFC (Archaeology), Assam Smt Nandita Gorlosa; Minister of Handloom & Textile, Soil Conservation & Welfare of Bodoland Shri Urkhao Gwra Brahma; Chief Executive Member, BTC Shri Pramod Boro; Chief of the Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande; GOC-in-C Eastern Command Lt Gen RP Kalita; AOC-in-C, Eastern Air Command Air Marshal SP Dharkar; General Officer Commanding, Gajraj Corps Lt Gen Manish Erry; General Officer Commanding, Red Horns Division Maj Gen S Murugesan and President, All India Football Federation Shri Kalyan Chaubey were among those present on the occasion.

The inaugural ceremony was followed by the opening match of the tournament between Bodoland FC and Rajasthan United FC. Kokrajhar will witness eight group matches and one quarter-final to be played on August 24, 2023. A total of 24 teams, including two foreign teams from Nepal and Bangladesh, all three teams of Indian Armed Forces and the local team of Bodoland FC will clash at three venues in Kolkata, Guwahati and Kokrajhar during the tournament..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   TNPCB

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The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) is set to conduct a public hearing on the proposed expansion of Adani group’s Kattupalli Port in Tiruvallur district.

The public hearing for the Kattupalli Port expansion by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which is investing Rs 53,031 crore, to ramp the port’s capacity from 24.65 million tonnes (mt) per annum to 320 mt, will be held at 10 am on September 5, 2023.

This comes nearly 2.5 years after a public hearing scheduled for January 22, 2021, was deferred by the Tiruvallur district administration due to the pandemic. The proposed revised master plan development of Kattupalli Port by Marine Infrastructure Developer Private Limited (MIDPL) will be carried out in 2,472.85 hectares, which includes 133.50 ha of existing area, 761.8 ha of government land, 781.4 ha of private land and proposed sea reclamation of 796.15 ha. The planned expansion will also make Kattupalli India’s deepest port with an average berth depth of 25m.

According to the notice issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), the public hearing will be held in Kalanji village. Sources told TNIE that Kattupalli port officials were pushing for a public hearing since the Terms of Reference (ToR) issued by the environment ministry will expire in October.

When contacted, the port officials said this was the public hearing that was deferred in 2021 and has been rescheduled now. “In the meantime, we have revalidated the baseline data and assessed the biodiversity of the area. We have fulfilled all the ToR conditions.”

While he was the leader of the Opposition, Chief Minister MK Stalin opposed the project and stated that if elected his government would not give a nod to the project. Sources said that discussions were held and now the government has decided to allow the public hearing to go ahead to gauge the mood of people. “We can’t stop the public hearing. It’s an opportunity for the people to express their opinions,” a senior bureaucrat said.

On the impact on Pulicat Lake and the bird sanctuary, the draft comprehensive environment impact assessment submitted by the MIDPL shows that Pulicat Lake is located 7.2 km from the project site and the bird sanctuary boundary is just 3.17 km.

Forest department sources said the proposal for an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) for Pulicat bird sanctuary was in the pre-draft stage. “Until the ESZ is notified, the default 10 km will apply. Kattupali port expansion would require clearance from the National Board for Wildlife.”

Pulicat fishermen have demanded that the state government declare Kattupalli coast as a ‘high erosion zone’, which would prevent mega projects in the region. Erosion triggered by ports constructed in the southern portion of Kattupalli island is already eating into Korakuppam and Sattankuppam villages.

As per the recent shoreline changes assessment report of the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), 18 km out of 40.97 km in Tiruvallur was experiencing erosion, including the Kattupalli coast..

Source : New Indian Express