Current Affairs One-Liner: 18th August 2022

• Appointments:
• Rajkiran Rai G has been appointed as Managing Director of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) for the next 5 years. He is a former managing director of the Union Bank of India.
• National News
• Report published by the US-based research organization Health Effects Institute (HEI), India is home to 18 of 20 cities with the most severe rise in pollution levels. The national capital Delhi has the highest average level of fine PM 2.5 among the world's most populated cities. The analysis used data from 2010 to 2019 and focused on two of the most harmful pollutants, fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
• External affairs minister S Jaishankar arrives in Thailand to attend the 9th India-Thailand joint commission meeting. India and Thailand are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. The Indian side was led by S. Jaishankar and the Thai side by Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai. The 8th Joint Commission meeting between India and Thailand was held on 2019 in New Delhi.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the special screening of the TV show 'Swaraj: Bharat Ke Swatantrata Sangram Ki Samagra Gatha' at Balyogi Auditorium in the parliament library building. The show produced by Doordarshan celebrates the 75th anniversary of India's independence. Union ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Anurag Takur, and Piyush Goyal, Lok sabha speaker Om Birla and BJP president J P Nadda attended the event.

• Science and Technology
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) received two pieces of space equipment built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to be used in the first unmanned development launch of India's manned space mission Gaganyaan. This is the second crew module fairing (CMF) that ISRO has taken delivery of for Gaganyaan.
• Obituaries
• Noted Hollywood director Wolfgang Petersen dies in Los Angeles at the age of 81. He is known for movies "Das Boot", "Outbreak", "The Perfect Storm" and "Troy".
• The veteran cricket administrator former secretary of BCCI Amitabh Choudhary passed away. He played a huge role in developing the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).
• Sports
• Ireland's all-around cricketer Kevin O'Brien announced their retirement from an international cricket career. He made his debut for Ireland in 2006. He represented Ireland in three tests, 153 ODIs, and 110 T20s scorings 5850 runs and took 172 wickets during his career.
• Banking and Finance
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) canceled the licence of Deccan Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Vijayapur, Karnataka due to inadequate capital and no earning prospects. Consequently, the bank has ceased to carry on banking business, with effect from the close of business on August 18.
• Bank of Baroda launches 'The Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme' a special retail term deposit product offering interest rates of 5.75 percent for 444 days and 6 percent for 555 days. The scheme is open till December 31, 2022, and is applicable on retail deposits below Rs 2 crore. Senior citizens will earn an additional interest rate of 0.50 percent and non-callable deposits will get 0.15 percent extra.
• The Union Cabinet approved the enhancement in the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 's limit from Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors.
• Subscribers of the National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) now have a new online payment mode. Subscribers of the two pension schemes of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) will be able to make contributions through UPI as well.
• Defence:
• ‘Medicine from the sky’ pilot project drone service launched by the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu. ‘Medicine from the sky’ is also a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Government Schemes:
• The government of India unveiled a platform to drive collaboration between the industry and research institutes to implement technology-based social impact innovations and solutions in the country. The launch of “Manthan”, a platform that promises to augment our efforts to build and nurture industry participation in R&D, is also a testimony of our commitment to the UN's SDG goals, the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the government.
• Meta, National Commission for Women (NCW) and MARD
• ONGC partners with ExxonMobil for deep water exploration
• Assam government launches Vidya Rath- School on Wheels project
• Delhi Police to launch online facility to release seized vehicles

Question: 

Q.1 Who will lead the India side at the 9th India-Thailand Joint Commission meeting?
a. Narendra Modi
b. S. Jaishankar
c. Meenakshi Lekhi
d. V. Muraleedharan