Daily Current Affairs 21 August 2019: We have collected the latest current affairs for 21 August 2019 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.

Current Affairs 21 August 2019

HRD Ministry launches NISHTHA initiative to train over 42 lakh teachers

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched the National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancements (NISHTHA) aimed at training over 42 lakh teachers across the country.
The initiative was launched by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. He also launched the website for NISHTHA, training modules, primer booklet and mobile app built for the purpose.
The initiative aims at reskilling the teaching workforce and is the world’s biggest project for teacher training.

Punjab Launches Health Insurance Scheme ‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana’

Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh has launched a flagship universal health insurance scheme Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana on August 20 as a mark of tribute to late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 75th birth anniversary.
The mega health insurance scheme combines Centre’s Ayushman Bharat plan to provide annual cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year, including pre-existing diseases, to benefit 46 lakh families covering 76 percent of the state’s population.
With this, Punjab has become the first state in India to offer medical insurance cover to the maximum number of its people.

Karnataka best state to set up rooftop solar project: SARAL Index

Karnataka has emerged as the best state for setting up a roof top solar project according to the State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index–SARAL. It was released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Telangana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh come next in the rankings. All four states i.e. Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have been graded A++.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been ranked last. This rating has been designed collaboratively by MNRE, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Ernst & Young (EY).

Indian Railways’ to Run Second Double-decker UDAY Express between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada for Business Travellers

The Indian Railways has approved to run its second luxury double-decker UDAY Express between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, for business travellers, due to the busy route in the East Coast Railway zone,
UDAY (Utkrisht Double Decker Air Conditioned Yatri) Express is a specially-designed air-conditioned double-decker train having nine chair car coaches for business travellers.
The first UDAY Express train was launched in the month of June 2018 running between Coimbatore and Bangalore.
Another Uday Express is proposed between Bangalore City and Chennai Central.

Paytm wins sponsorship rights for BCCI for 5 more years

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has retained the sponsorship rights with Paytm for BCCI’s International and domestic matches.
Paytm had acquired the rights in 2015 for a four-year period. Now again the rights have been extended till 2023 after Paytm’s winning bid of Rs 3.80 crore per match.

Amazon Opens Its Largest Global Campus Building in Hyderabad

US-based e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. inaugurated its single-largest campus in the world in Hyderabad on August 21, 2019.
The Hyderabad based campus is the only Amazon-owned office outside the United States and will house over 15,000 employees of its over 62,000 employee base in India.
Prior to this, the company had the largest buildings in Seattle that could house about 5,000 employees.

BookMyForex partners with YES Bank to launch Forex Card on Visa network

BookMyForex.com has announced the launch of a co-branded Multi-Currency Forex Travel-card in partnership with YES Bank and Visa to offer a seamless experience to Indian overseas travelers.
Travellers can load up to 10 currencies on the card. BookMyForex is the world’s first and largest marketplace for foreign exchange and remittances.
Customers can buy forex travel cards using the BookMyForex platform and get free doorstep delivery across major cities in India.

Indian-Origin Navneeth Murali Wins 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee Contest

An Indian-American teenager named Navneeth Murali has won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest worth USD 3,000 by correctly spelling the word ‘flipe’ in the finals.
New Jersey based Navneeth Murali spelled ‘flype’ as ‘flipe’, but, as per Merriam-Webster dictionary flipe is a variant of flype and therefore Murali was declared the winner, becoming the first winner “on an APPEAL”, in the spelling history.
Flype is defined as “to strip off by or as if by peeling” according to the dictionary.
The South Asian Spelling Bee (SASB) is an annual spelling bee platform in United States for children of South Asian descent.

Madhya Pradesh Para Swimmer Satyendra Singh Becomes First Asian to Cross Catalina Channel

An Indian para-relay swimming team led by Satendra Singh Lohia of Madhya Pradesh scripted history by crossing the Catalina Channel in the United States.
Satendra Singh has already crossed the English Channel in March 2019.
The Gwalior-born athlete thus has become the first Asian para swimmer to have crossed both English and Catalina channel successfully.
The Indian Para Relay Team covered the distance of 36 km of Catalina Channel in 10 hours 59 minutes.
The other members of the team consisted of Rimo Shah of West Bengal, Anjani Patel of Chhattisgarh, Chetan Raut and Gitanjali Chaudhary of Maharashtra and Jagdish Teli of Rajasthan.

Former Madhya Pradesh CM Babulal Gaur Passes Away at 89

The former Chief Minister of the Madhya Pradesh Babulal Gaur passed away. He was 89.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader Babulal Gaur served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh from August 2004 to November 2005.

Daily Current Affairs – 21 August 2019