Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 19 August 2022, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.

Current Affairs for Competitive Exam – 19 August 2022

NASA’s moon rocket moved to launch pad for 1st test flight

NASA’s moon rocket moved to launch pad for 1st test flight

NASA’s new moon rocket arrived at the launch pad Wednesday ahead of its debut flight in less than two weeks. The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket emerged from its mammoth hangar late Tuesday night, drawing crowds of Kennedy Space Center workers, many of whom were not yet born when NASA sent astronauts to the moon a half-century ago. It took nearly 10 hours for the rocket to make the four-mile trip to the pad, pulling up at sunrise.

Nasa has promised that this third mission will witness the first woman to put her boots down on the Moon’s surface. A major objective of the test fight is to check the heatshield on the capsule can survive the heat of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Meghalaya Sports Department set to host 2nd edition of North East Olympics

Meghalaya Sports Department set to host 2nd edition of North East Olympics

Meghalaya is all set to host the upcoming 2nd edition of the North East Olympics from October the 30th to November the 6th in Shillong.

A joint meeting of the North East Organising Committee, Meghalaya Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, and the North East Olympic Association was held last evening to finalize the list of sports disciplines. The first edition of Games was held in Manipur in 2018, with 12 disciplines.

In this edition, about 4,000 participants from eight North Eastern States will be competing in 18 disciplines at 13 venues spread across Shillong. Participants will be competing in disciplines, such as archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, wushu, cycling (Mountain Bike), golf, weightlifting and wrestling.

Bajaj Electricals elevates Anuj Poddar as MD & CEO

Consumer durable products maker Bajaj Electricals on Tuesday elevated its Executive Director Anuj Poddar to Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The company has separated the post of Chairman & Managing Director and its patron Shekhar Bajaj will continue as Executive Chairman of the company, said a statement from Bajaj Electricals. The separation of the Chairman and Managing Director positions is in continuation of the professionalisation of the management of the company and marks the company’s commitment to strong corporate governance standards.

Current business of Bajaj Electricals:

Bajaj Electricals had a turnover of Rs 4,813 crore in FY22. Its business portfolio spans consumer products such as appliances, fans, lighting and EPC (illumination, power transmission and power distribution). It also has a presence in premium home appliance and cookware segments with brands like Morphy Richards and Nirlep.

Country first electric double-decker bus launched in Mumbai

India’s first electric double decker AC bus made by Switch Mobility has reached Mumbai. Two new electric buses, including the first air-conditioned double-decker bus in the country, will join the fleet of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). The name of the bus is “Switch EiV 22”, the double-decker bus will be run by the Mumbai civic transport body from September. Nitin Gadkari said 35 per cent of the pollution is because of diesel and petrol, and the introduction of these buses will reduce pollution. Two new electric buses, including the first air-conditioned double-decker bus in the country, will join the fleet of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).

key features of AC double-decker buses:

• App-based seat booking, live tracking and payment on the BEST Chalo App;
• A dedicated USB charging port for every passenger;
• Adjustable footrest;
• Express service with fewer stops during peak hours;
• Monthly passes for regular passengers.

World Photography Day celebrates on 19th August

World Photography Day is dedicated to the art, science, and history of photography. It is celebrated on August 19 every year and on this day, people pay homage to the pioneers of photography who inspired them to take up this skill and the contributions of great photographers are remembered. The aim of World Photography Day is to create awareness, share ideas and encourage people to take up photography. The annual celebration pays tribute to the art of photography and also encourages those who are passionate about it to come together and share their work. It also serves as a motivating day for enthusiasts to pursue photography as a career.

History

The inception of this day dates back to 1837 when Frenchmen Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre invented the ‘daguerreotype’ which was the world’s first-ever photographic process. Two years later on January 9, 1939, the daguerreotype was officially endorsed by the French Academy of Sciences. Seven months later on August 19, 1839, the French government is believed to have purchased the patent for the device. They declared the invention of the daguerreotype as a gift to the world making it freely available to all and the day began to be marked as World Photography Day later on.

World Humanitarian Day observed on 19th August

World Humanitarian Day on August 19 honors humanitarian aid workers all over the world.  Established by the UN in 2009, this day commemorates the anniversary of the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Iraq. 22 people lost their lives, including the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights. The day aims to spread awareness about the need for humanitarian assistance worldwide. The UN hopes that the day will serve as a reminder to people of the risk taken by some to save lives and support humanitarian causes.

World Humanitarian Day 2022: Campaign

The 2022 campaign, according to the United Nations, shines a light on “thousands of volunteers, professionals and crisis-affected people who deliver urgent health care, shelter, food, protection, water and much more.”

World Humanitarian Day 2022:  Significance

The United Nations has decided to use digital art to narrate stories of people in need and those who help them. At the centre of the campaign, the international body said, is a series of beautifully illustrated aid worker profiles. These profiles narrate the breadth and depth of humanitarian work and collectively symbolise the wider humanitarian village.

World Humanitarian Day: History

A bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers on August 19, 2003. The lives taken away included the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years after this, the UNGA adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD).

WHD is a campaign by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal launches mission to ‘make India No. 1’

To expand his footprint ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday launched Mission “Make India No 1” campaign saying he would travel across the country to make an alliance of 130 crore people.
Unveiling his five-point vision — free and quality education for children, free healthcare for citizens, safety for women, jobs for youth and fair price to farmers for their produce — which, he said, would make India a superpower, the AAP national convener urged the masses as well as other political parties to join him in his mission.

The five-point vision of this initiative:

1. The first thing that we have to do is provide free and quality education to every child of this country.
2. The second measure that we will have to take is to provide free and best medical treatment along with free medicines and test facilities to every citizen of the country.
3. Third, we will have to provide employment to every youth which is possible with the right intention and management.
4. Fourth, every woman should get respect, equal rights and security.
5. Fifth, we will have to ensure farmers get fair prices for their produce and get respect so that children can say with pride that they also want to become farmers.

Goa, first state in India to receive “Har Ghar Jal” certification

Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (D&NH and D&D) becomes the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified State and UT in the country respectively, where people from all the villages have declared their village as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ through a resolution passed by Gram Sabha, certifying that all households in the villages have access to safe drinking water through taps, ensuring that ‘No One is Left Out’.  All 85,156 of the 85,635,000 rural households in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Goa have access to potable water via a tap connection with Har Ghar Jal.

Goa gets Har Ghar Jal Certificate: Key Points

• Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme of Government of India which was announced from the ramparts of Red Fort by visionary Prime Minister on August 15, 2019. The mission aims to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household of the country by 2024. The program is implemented by Government of India in partnership with States/UTs.
• The initiative is carried out by the Indian government in collaboration with the States and UTs.
• Despite numerous setbacks and difficulties encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, this success is the result of the persistent efforts of Goa‘s Panchayat members, Pani Samitis,
• District and State/UT officials, and D&NH and D&D. The tap connection currently provides access to potable water for all schools, anganwadi centres, public institutions, including Gram Panchayat buildings, healthcare facilities, community centres, ashramshalas, and other government structures.

Har Ghar Jal: Jal Jeevan Mission

According to the certification process outlined in the Jal Jeevan Mission‘s Margdarshika (Har Ghar Jal), the field engineer must first present a completion certificate for the water delivery plan to the Panchayat during a meeting of the Gram Sabha. Through a Gram Sabha resolution, the villages attest that every household has a consistent supply of water of the required quality, with no household being left out. Additionally, they attest to the fact that all public institutions, including schools and anganwadi centres, receive tap water.

All 378 villages in Goa and 96 in D&NH and D&D have established Village Water and Sanitation Committees, or paani samitis. The Har Ghar Jal program’s water supply infrastructure must be operated, maintained, and repaired by VWSC. This Gram Panchayat subcommittee is also in charge of collecting user fees, which will be put in a bank account and utilised to cover the honorarium of the pump operator and occasionally do minor repairs.

Paytm tie-up with Samsung stores to deploy smart PoS devices

Digital financial services firm Paytm on Tuesday said it partnered with Samsung stores across India to facilitate smart payments as well as its loan service Paytm Postpaid through deployment of point of sale devices. The partnership will enable consumers purchasing Samsung devices — laptops, smartphones, television, smart watches etc — from any authorised store in the country to pay through Paytm payment instruments, including UPI, wallet, buy now pay later scheme, debit cards and credit cards.

About the Partnership:

• The partnership with Samsung stores will enable us to further extend the convenience of smart payments to a larger customer base.
• Paytm through its postpaid or buy-now-pay-later service will provide a credit limit of up to Rs 60,000 per month. It will also give customers an option to avail of personal loans of up to Rs 2 lakh through financial institution partners of Paytm, according to the company statement.
• Paytm claims to be the leader in offline payments, having deployed 4.1 million devices across the country as of July 2022.

The Geo-Political Situation Of China-Taiwan-USA Relations

The speaker of the United States (US) House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi’s politically provocative visit to Taiwan and Beijing’s equally provocative military exercises in the waters surrounding Taiwan has further vitiated the Sino–US relations bringing the two big powers closer to war. The US recognises the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China while maintaining unofficial relations with Taiwan. The US Department of State is insisting that there is no change in its “one China Policy,” but Pelosi’s visit has once again highlighted the contradictions of Washington’s arrangement with China over Taiwan.

History & Current Status of Taiwan:

1)Taiwan known as Republic of China(RoC), an island separated from China by Taiwan strait.
2) Separated in 1949, amid civil war China considers Taiwan a part of its territory.
3) The ruling Kuo-Mintang (Nationalist) government of China fled to Taiwan after being defeated by the communist forces in the Chinese civil war of 1945-1949.
4) Following the split of China and Taiwan in the civil war, the Republic of China (RoC) government was relocated to Taiwan. On the other hand, The Communist Party of China (CPC) established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the mainland. Since then, the PRC observes Taiwan as a traitor province and awaits reintegration with Taiwan
5) Beijing says One China policy and Taiwan is inseparable part of China.
6) Beijing says Taiwan is bound by 1992 consensus which was reached between Chinese Communist Party and Kuo-Mingtang Party that then ruled Taiwan.
7) For china two sides of Strait belong to one china but democratic progressive party in Taiwan do not agree to this.
8) Taiwan strait – busiest shipping route
9) Island location – connecting Japan and South china sea, has high geopolitical significance.
US relationship with Taiwan: It is governed by One China policy. It’s balance between supporting Taiwan and preventing war with China. It is based on Taiwan relation Act and declassified SIX ASSURANCE givenby former president Ronald Regan to Taiwan in 1982:

1. Taiwan is a part of China.
2. USA will sell arms to Taiwan.
3. Rejected use of force to settle dispute.
4. Policy of strategic ambiguity. 

US’s recent move:

1)President Joe Biden’s statement – US will come to Taiwan’s defence if china attacks.
2) Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of US house of representative) visited Taiwan is seen as provocation by USA to China and attack on its sovereignty.
3) Recently, US congress enacted Taiwan Policy act 2022 – designated Taiwan as Major Non-NATO ally.
4) Strategic and defence support to Taiwan through F16 aircraft, Harpoon missile, etc.

China’s stand:

1) President Xi of China – One country two system is unpopular in Taiwan. Integrate Taiwan fully in china through one nation one system, its Chinese dream project by 2049.
2) Russia’s invasion embolden Beijing to invade Taiwan.

India-Taiwan association:

1)India officially supports One China policy but representatives of Taiwan have their base in India.
2)PM Manmohan Singh dropped its mentioning during Chinese premier visit in 2010 and also PM Modi invited Taiwan ambassador for swearing ceremony. Thus, India has been moving away from the policy of appeasing China.

Implications on India:

1)Taiwan is manufacturing hub and India imports semiconductor and electronic equipment.
2) India’s Act East policy and Taiwan’s south Bound Policy will further strengthen economic cooperation between countries.
3) India supports democracy in Taiwan and support peaceful resolution of issue.