DAILY GK 19-21 AUG 2026

 DAILY GK 19-21 AUG 2026

1.       WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY 2026 – AUGUST 19

·         The day commemorates the invention of the daguerreotype process, the first practical photographic process developed by Louis Daguerre in 1837.

·         The theme of World Photography Day 2026 is “HOME”.

·         The term “Photography” means “drawing with light” and was coined by British Scientist Sir John Herschel in 1839.

 


2.       SADBHAVANA DIVAS 2026 – AUGUST 20

·         Sadbhavana Diwas or Harmony Day is observed on August 20 every year in India with the intention of promoting peace, unity, and harmony among various religions and communities.

·         The day also marks the birth anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and this year marks the 82nd birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

·         Sadbhavana Diwas was first observed on August 20, 1992, in memory of Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991.

 

3.       WORLD MOSQUITO DAY 2026 – AUGUST 20 

·         World Mosquito Day (WMD) is annually observed across the globe on 20 August to commemorate the discovery by Sir Ronald Ross in 1897 that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans.

·         In 1902, Ronald Ross received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, becoming the first Briton recognised for malaria research.

 

4.       COLOUR-CODED CREDIT RISK-O-METER FOR DEBT SECURITIES-SEBI

·         The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released a consultation paper proposing a mandatory, colour-coded Credit Risk-o-Meter for debt securities to make credit risk easier for investors to assess and compare.

·         The proposal builds on SEBI’s existing Risk-o-Meter framework for Mutual Funds(MFs), which classifies risk into six levels from Low to Very High.

·         Levels: The current credit rating system, which ranges from AAA to D, would be mapped into six visual danger levels by the suggested meter.

·         The proposal seeks to translate existing alphanumeric credit ratings such as AAA, AA+ and BBB- into a standardised, colour-coded visual scale.

·         Under the proposed framework, the Credit Risk-o-Meter will map credit ratings into six risk levels: Lowest credit risk, Very low credit risk,Low credit risk,Moderate credit risk,Moderate risk of default,High to very high risk of default

 

5.       RBI IMPOSES PENALTY ON INDUSIND BANK

·         The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs.59.20 lakh on IndusInd Bank Limited for non-compliance with certain provisions of RBI directions on Interest Rate on Deposits and Securitisation of Standard Assets.

·         The RBI identified two major regulatory violations by IndusInd Bank: payment of interest on certain current account deposits in violation of RBI directions and undertaking activities in the nature of Synthetic Securitisation of standard assets against RBI guidelines.

·         IndusInd Bank Limited: Established in 1994, it is headquartered in Mumbai, and carries the tagline “We Make You Feel Richer”.

 

6.       NEW PORTALS TO STRENGTHEN CYBERSECURITY

·         Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), launched two new web portals named ‘SEBI Incident Reporting’ and ‘Cyber Suraksha’, designed to strengthen cybersecurity and information sharing across the securities market ecosystem.

·         Both these new portals were launched at the inaugural ceremony of SEBI’s Symposium on Cyber Defence, being held in Mumbai.

·         Cyber Suraksha Portal: It will serve as a central hub for sharing cybersecurity information, including cybersecurity knowledge, vulnerability warnings, policy measures and incident insights.

·         Tuhin Kanta Pandey, inaugurated the RegTech Lab at the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) Patalganga campus in Mumbai, to promote technology-enabled and practical learning in regulatory compliance and securities-market regulation.

 

7.       QATAR-INDIA POSTAL REMITTANCE SERVICE

·         The Qatar-India Postal Remittance Service based on PosTransfer powered by Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was operationalised in Doha, Qatar, enabling faster, secure, and cost-effective cross-border remittance services between Qatar and India.

·         Customers can initiate transfers at Qatar Post outlets by providing the recipient’s UPI ID and required identification details.

·         The recipient in India must activate the facility for receiving international inward remittances through their UPI application(app), after which funds are credited instantly to their UPI-linked bank account.

·         Under the new service, transactions can be initiated for amounts ranging from QAR 10 to QAR 4,000, subject to a maximum equivalent of Rs 1 lakh per transaction.

·         The customer will have to pay QAR 15 for each transaction as a flat service charge.