• Government of India had appointed R. Doraiswamy as the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) managing director. He is currently executive director at the central office in Mumbai.
• Earlier LIC appointed Sat Pal Bhanoo as the managing director of the company. The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), the headhunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, had recommended the name of Sat Pal Bhanoo for the post of managing director of LIC.

• Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma launched the ‘Graphene-Aurora program’ at a function in Maker Village Kochi, Kerala.
• The program shall be implemented by Digital University Kerala with joint funding from the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), the Government of India and the Government of Kerala and Industry partners, with a total budget outlay of Rs 94.85 Crore, wherein, Carborundum Pvt Limited joined as one of the main industry partners.

• Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala has unveiled the ‘A-HELP’ (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production) programme along with an Infertility Camp, in the State of Gujarat.
• The ‘A-HELP’ programme aims to empower women by engaging them as trained agents who contribute significantly to disease control, artificial insemination under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), animal tagging, and livestock insurance.

• The High Commission of India observed the 77th Independence Day of India  in Dhaka. The celebrations were held with great fervor as part of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,”
• Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma unfurled the national flag at the chancery and read out President Droupadi Murmu's address to over 1,000 Indian citizens studying and working in Bangladesh.This year marks the culmination of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” - a government initiative to mark 75 years of Independence which started in 2021.In 1947, India gained independence from the United Kingdom on August 15,

• Anwarul Haq Kakar, an ethnic Pushtun leader who is considered close to the powerful military, was sworn in as Pakistan's caretaker prime minister to head a neutral political set-up to run the cash-strapped country and conduct the next general elections.
• President Arif Alvi administered the oath to 52-year-old Kakar at a simple ceremony held at the President House, attended by outgoing prime minister. Shehbaz Sharif and several top leaders. He became the 8th interim prime minister of Pakistan. Foot Notes: About Pakistan: Capital: Islamabad President: Arif Alvi

• Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has emerged as the top performer among public sector lenders in loan and deposit growth of 25% in percentage terms during the first quarter of the current financial year.The deposit and advances of the Pune-based lender are the highest by any public sector bank (PSB) during the April-June quarter.
• With a growth rate of 24.98%, the gross domestic advances of the bank rose to Rs 1,75,676 crore at the end of June 2023.It was followed by UCO Bank with 20.70% growth, while Bank of Baroda (BoB) with 16.80% and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) with 16.21% growth were at 3rd and 4th spot respectively.State Bank of India (SBI) stood at the 5th spot with 15.08% rise in domestic advances growth.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has chosen global consultancy firms McKinsey and Company India LLP and Accenture Solutions Pvt Ltd India to develop systems utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for enhancing its supervisory capabilities. The RBI aims to harness advanced analytics, AI, and ML to analyze its extensive database and bolster regulatory oversight over banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). The central bank has opted to engage external experts for this purpose.
• McKinsey and Company India LLP and Accenture Solutions Private Limited India have won the contract. An RBI document confirms this. The contract’s value is about Rs 91 crore.

• Indian Naval Ship Kulish, a guided missile Corvette which is on a four-day visit to Singapore to take part in a multilateral exercise joined the celebration of the 77th Independence Day . The officers and crew of the ship participated in the 77th Independence Day celebrations at the High Commission of India in Singapore, the Commanding Officer Ashish Delsaria presented a memento to the Acting High Commissioner Pooja Madan Tulli, to commemorate the ship's visit to the Lion City.
• One of the key highlights of the event was also the Naval Jazz band, which enthralled more than 1,000 Indian community members in attendance with patriotic numbers.

• President Smt Droupadi Murmu has approved 76 Gallantry awards to Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel on Independence Day 2023.
• These include four Kirti Chakra (posthumous), 11 Shaurya Chakras, including five posthumous, two Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 52 Sena Medals (Gallantry), three Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and four Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).

• India (2771.35 points) jumped one place to third and went past England (2763.50 points) behind top-ranked Netherlands (3095.90 points) and Belgium (2917.87 points).This was the second time India rose to No 3 in the FIH rankings. India had achieved a similar ranking in 2021 after securing a bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, which was their first medal at the Games in 41 year.

Download Daily GK PDF of 16 August 2023