19th August 2021 Daily GK Update: Read Daily GK, Current Affairs for Bank Exam

Here is the Daily GK Update of 19th August 2021 covering the following news headlines: PRISM, Regulatory GAAR, Smart Health Cards, World Athletics U20 Championships, OPERATION KHUKRI, SBI Life eShield Next.

Daily GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily GK Update is the complete bag of the important news that is held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 19th August 2021 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

Top 14 Daily GK Updates: National & International News

Here is providing below the top 14 important Daily General Knowledge GK 2021 updates with national & international news

State News

1. Odisha to become 1st Indian state to Provide Smart Health Cards

• Odisha is all set to launch India’s first ‘Smart Health Cards scheme’ covering its 3.5 crore people of 96 lakh families under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.
• The information for the same was provided by Odisha Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik while addressing the 75th Independence Day celebrations in Bhubaneswar.
• The objective behind Smart Health Cards is to provide hassle-free quality treatment at the best available health care facilities. These cards will work like debit cards for a certain amount.
• Through this scheme, Central Government health benefits can also be accessed.
• The beneficiaries of National and State Food Security Schemes, Annapurna and Antyodaya schemes will get this card and henceforth each family can avail treatment cost up to Rs 5 lakh per annum.
• Women members can avail of benefits up to Rs 10 lakh annually.
• The health benefits under this scheme can be availed in more than 200 hospital chains of the country including Odisha.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik and Governor is Ganeshi Lal.

Appointments News

2. PR Sreejesh to be brand ambassador of Kerala adventure tourism

• Olympian Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh (PR Sreejesh), goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian National Hockey team is set to be named as the brand ambassador of adventure tourism in Kerala.
• Sreejesh was a part of the Indian Hockey team that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. PR Sreejesh hails from Ernakulam, Kerala.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan;
• Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.

Business News

3. SBI Life launches new-age term insurance policy “SBI Life eShield Next”

• SBI Life Insurance announced the launch of a unique new age protection solution called ‘SBI Life eShield Next’, which ‘levels up’ the protection coverage as the insured achieves life’s major milestones.
• This means that the policy is neither linked to the stock market nor shares any profit or dividends with the policyholders.
• It is an individual, non-linked, non-participating, life insurance pure risk premium product and works by ‘levelling up’ the required insurance protection, through an increase in sum assured linked to the significant ‘level-up milestones in one’s life, like getting married, becoming a parent or buying a new house.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• SBI Life Insurance CEO: Mahesh Kumar Sharma;
• SBI Life Insurance Headquarters: Mumbai;
• SBI Life Insurance Founded: March 2001.

Banking News

4. RBI to introduce ‘Regulatory GAAR’ for round-tripping

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come up with a draft rule with modifications in the existing regulation related to foreign investment to discourage round-tripping. The central bank is looking to tweak the existing regulations and has come up with draft rules around round-tripping.
• Some of the largest Indian companies, startups and multinationals with an India presence have put their outbound investment, fundraising and restructuring plans on hold as the RBI looks to introduce fresh regulations around “round-tripping.”
• According to the draft rule, any investment made outside India is an entity, in turn, invests in India will be treated as round-tripping if the purpose is to escape tax. This is as the same definition and rationale used by the tax department under General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) which companies have been complaining is quite broad in its scope.

5. RBI to put in place a “PRISM” to strengthen compliance by lenders

• The Reserve Bank of India is putting in place a Platform for Regulated Entities for Integrated Supervision and Monitoring (PRISM), a web-based end-to-end workflow automation system, to strengthen compliance by supervised entities (SEs).
• This is aimed at helping supervised entities to strengthen their internal defences and resilience and bringing focus on root cause analysis (RCA).
• PRISM will have various functionalities (inspection; compliance; incident functionality for cybersecurity; complaints; and returns functionalities), with built-in remediation workflows, time tracking, notifications and alerts, management information system (MIS) reports and dashboards.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

Defence News

6. Army organises 400 Km “JAZBAA-E- TIRANGA” Relay Marathon in J&K

• In Jammu and Kashmir, the Army organised a 400 Km “JAZBAA-E- TIRANGA” Relay Marathon.
• The event was flagged off by Major General Rajeev Puri, General Officer Commanding, Ace of Spades Division, who led the relay, closely followed by other military personnel. More than 300 troops took part, carrying the Indian Tricolour all along the Line of Control (LoC).
• The run inculcated the spirit of brotherhood, as each soldier carried the symbolic National Flag of comradeship across the Area of Responsibility (AOR), handing it over to other units which stand shoulder to shoulder in war.

7. Indian Navy Conducts Bilateral Maritime Exercise with Vietnam

• The Indian Navy and Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) undertook a bilateral maritime exercise in the South China Sea, to strengthen the defence ties among the two navies.
• From India, INS Ranvijay and INS Kora took part in the exercise and from the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN), frigate VPNS Ly Thai To(HQ-012) participated in the drill.
• The bilateral interaction aims to consolidate the strong bond shared by the two navies and would be another step towards strengthening India-Vietnam defence relations. Regular interactions between the two navies over the years have enhanced their interoperability and adaptability.

Summits and Conferences News

8. Piyush Goyal chairs 5th meeting of BRICS Industry Ministers

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has chaired the fifth meeting of BRICS Industry Ministers and called for expanding the horizon of the New Development Bank (NDB). India holds the Chairship of BRICS for 2021.
• This year, India chose the theme of ‘Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus’ for its chairship.
• The BRICS ministers called for the need to adopt emerging new technologies, recognising it as an important tool for modernisation and transformation of industry, and promotion of economic growth.
• They also committed to play a constructive role towards the promotion of IPR, and expressed their intention to collaborate with NDB.
• The meeting concluded with the ministers committing to work together as a group, share best practices and move ahead in a positive and constructive manner to achieve the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Books and Authors News

9. A book on “OPERATION KHUKRI” released by CDS Gen Rawat

• CDS General Bipin Rawat was presented a book “OPERATION KHUKRI” by authors Major General Rajpal Punia & Ms Damini Punia. The book highlights the Indian Army’s successful rescue mission in Sierra Leone as part of the United Nations.
• The year was 2000, Sierra Leone, in West Africa, had been ravaged by years of civil strife. With the intervention of the United Nations, two companies of the Indian Army were deployed in Kailahun as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Sports News

10. World Athletics U20 Championships begins in Nairobi

• The 2021 edition of the World Athletics U20 Championships has been started in Nairobi, Kenya.
• The impact of Covid on teams travelling and logistics of moving vital equipment around the world have proven to be a challenge, the governing body said in a release.
• The event was originally scheduled for 2020. The World U20 Championships were held from 17 to 22 August, 2021.

11. Odisha to sponsor Indian Hockey teams for 10 more years

• The Odisha government will sponsor the Indian Hockey teams for 10 more years after the current sponsorship ends in 2023, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced. The state government started sponsoring the national hockey teams in 2018.
• The teams have scripted history with their brilliant performance at the Tokyo Olympics,” the chief minister said, handing over a cash award of Rs 10 lakh to each player.

Important Days

12. World Humanitarian Day: 19 August

• World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is observed every year on 19 August to pay tribute to humanitarian personnel and those workers who lost or risked their lives while doing humanitarian service. In 2021 we are celebrating the 12th WHD.
• The theme for 2021 WHD is #TheHumanRace: a global challenge for climate action in solidarity with people who need it the most.

13. World Photography Day: 19 August

• World Photography Day is celebrated on 19 August every year to promote photography as a hobby and also inspire photographers around the globe to share a single photo with the rest of the world. The first official World Photo Day was observed on August 19, 2010.
• The origin of World Photo Day comes from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Frenchmen Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1837.
• It was on August 19, 1939 that the French government purchased the patent of Daguerreotype process and announced the invention as a gift “free to the world”.

Obituaries News

14. Tamil actor Anandha Kannan passes away

• Tamil star and popular TV host Anandha Kannan passed away. He started his career with Vasantham TV in Singapore before moving to Chennai where he worked with Sun Music as a video jockey.
• He made a guest appearance in Venkat Prabhu’s Saroja (2008). Anandha Kannan later did a full-fledged role in the science fiction Tamil film Adisaya Ulagam (2012).