a2z current affairs (august 2017) · stability across the indo-pacific region _. india...

A2Z Current Affairs (August 2017)

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MOU Industry/States/Others State Bank of India (SBI)

Samsung India Availability of Samsung Pay for higher variants of SBI debit card.

Bank of Baroda Finolex Plasson Industries In order to finance farmers for installation of Micro Irrigation system for their fields through

Union Bank of India

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Cholamandalam Ms. General Insurance

For distribution of their insurance products

Axis Bank Solar energy services company Freyr Energy

to offer term loans ranging from Rs.5 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh for tenures up to five years,for solar rooftop installations in

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

IDFC Bank Digital payments company Zeta

to launch ‘IDFC Bank Benefits’ – a payment solution for corporates that digitises employee spends and claims,

making the process simple, real-time and paperless. Dhanlaxmi Bank DHFL Pramerica Life

Insurance Company Bank will distribute retail and group life insurance products of company to its customers.

Airtel Payments Bank

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)

All 14,000 HPCL fuel stations will act as banking points for Airtel Payments Bank.

HomeCredit Finance India

Paytm to enable customers to pay their loan EMIs (Equated Monthly Installments)

MobiKwik Bajaj Finance Ltd to launch India’s first debit and credit wallet, which will enable the consumer to avail instant purchases and

payment option via a credit facility through the app.

SEBI Securities & Exchange Organization (SEO) of Iran

to promote technical assistance and facilitate cross- border co-operation in the area of securities regulations.

Paisabazaar.com e-CASH Enables CASHe to offer short term personal loans on the Paisabazaar.com platform

Bengaluru International Airport Limited

Accenture To set up a co-innovation centre that will help incubate and develop digital solutions to create an “airport of the

future”.

GovernmenteMarketplace SPV(GeM)

Confederation Industry (CII) Of Indian

For establishing GeM Samvaad - a participative and collaborative approach with the industry for promoting

Indian industry and entrepreneurship.

Council for science and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

for exchanging time and frequency traceability to bring accuracy in satellite navigation and other ventures.

Appointments and Resignations

Name Post Institution and other Info

Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu

13th Vice President India (He took charge from Pranab Mukherjee)

Justice Dipak Misra Chief Justice India (He Khehar) took charge from Jagdish Singh

Rajiv Gauba Union Home Secretary India (He took charge from Rajiv Mehrishi)

Rajiv Mehrishi Comptroller and Auditor General

India (He took charge from Shashi Kant Sharma)


Sunil Arora Election Commissioner India (He took charge from Achal Kumar Joti who is now

Chief Election Commissioner). Other Election Commissioner is Om Prakash Rawa.

O.Panneerselvam Deputy Chief Minister Tamil Nadu

S Aparna Executive Director World Bank to represent the constituency of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for three years.

Rajiv Kumar Vice Chairman NITI Aayog

Dr. (Ms.) Mamta Suri Executive Director Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

David Rasquinha Managing Director (MD) Exim Bank

P R Seshadri MD and CEO Karur Vysya Bank

E Sankara Rao MD and CEO IFCI Ltd, a government company

Dilip Asbe Chief Executive Officer (Acting)

National Payments Corporation of India (after retirement of A. P. Hota, its founding managing director)

Mohammad Mustafa Chairman and Managing Director

SIDBI

Dhirendra Swarup Chairman Bombay Stock Exchange

Ashish Chauhan CEO Bombay Stock Exchange

Sanjaya Baru Secretary General Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)

Prasoon Joshi Chief CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification)

Gautam Kaushik Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Payback India

Nandan Nilekani Chairman Chairman of the board of directors of Infosys

Ashwani Lohani Chairman Railway Board (succeeds AK Mittal) He was former Air India chief

Rajiv Bansal Chairman and MD Air India (succeeds Ashwani Lohani)

Shashi Shekhar Vempati CEO (addition charge) Rajya Sabha TV

PV Sindhu Brand Ambassador Bridgestone India

Akshay Kumar Brand Ambassador For Swachh Bharat Mission in Uttar Pradesh

Rahul Dravid Brand Ambassador InCred, the Mumbai-based new age financial services group

Neymar Jr (Brazil’s footballer)

Brand Ambassador Handicap International

Cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur

DSP Punjab government

Sohail Mahmood Pakistan's High Commissioner to India

Peter O’Neill Prime Minister Papua New Guinea

Sapar Isakov Prime Minister Kyrgyzstan

Hassan Rouhani President Iran Uhuru Kenyatta President Kenya

Christopher Wray Director FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Resignations/Terminations

Arvind Panagariya resigns as NITI Aayog Vice Chairman

Two-time former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, a Ukrainian former professional boxer has announced retirement

Pahlaj Nihalani removed as CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) chief

After the removal of Pahlaj Nihalani as the Censor Board Chief, its board was reconstituted with the new members. Actress Vidya Balan is one among them.


Rajya Sabha TV CEO Gurdeep Singh Sappal announced resignation from the post.

Vishal Sikka resigns as Infosys MD and CEO. B. Pravin Rao given interim charge.

Awards and Recognitions

Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge

Prem Nazir Award Sharada She is veteran actor and national award winner

Saraswati Samman for 2016 Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar sail

She has been awarded for her work “Hawthan” that captures the lives of the potter community in Goa.

Himachal Pradesh Environment Leadership Award 2017

Dr. Madhu Chitkara She is Chandigarh’s Chitkara University’s Pro-Chancellor

Mrs India Worldwide 2017 Neha Deshpande

Miss India America 2017 India LaRoda She is Indian-African American

1st Miss Transqueen India Natasha/Nitasha Biswas She hails from Kolkata Transgender beauty pageant held in Gurugram.

Kesari Media Award T J S George Veteran journalist

The Hindu Playwright Award 2017 Gerish Khemani and Akshat Nigam

For their play ‘In Search of Dariya Sagar’.

7th Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar Award

Bappi Lahiri For his legendary 48 years of musical work in both Bollywood and Hollywood in Delhi

Best Woman Entrepreneur Award 2017

Upasana Taku She is Mobikwik co-founder

Global Agriculture leadership award

K Chandrasekhar Rao He is Telangana Chief Minister

Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence for 2016

Prof. Digambar Behera

FICCI Special Jury Award Dr KR Balakrishnan Awarded by FICCI for his contributions to healthcare and medical research.

Edupreneur Award Rustom Kerawalla Awarded at World Education Summit held at New Delhi

Asia Game Changer Award Dev Patel (British-born actor)

Awarded in recognition of him using his celebrity status to place a spotlight on

India’s poor

Hugo Award for Best Novel 2017 Nora K. Jemisin an American speculative fiction writer. Given for her work ‘The Obelisk Gate’.

Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

Morgan Freeman Hollywood actor

John Stewart Bell Prize Ronald Hanson Sae-Woo Nam Anton Zeilinger

A trio of scientists who defied Einstein by proving the nonlocal nature of quantum entanglement will be honoured with the

John Stewart Bell Prize from the University of Toronto (U of T).

'Women Transforming India Awards' by Niti Aayog in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov given to 12 women to recognise the transformational impact of work undertaken by them across India's villages, towns and cities.

The first-ever student to have scored 100 per cent in the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination- Mains, Udaipur boy Kalpit Veerwal has made it to the Limca Book of Records for his feat.

Nine-year-old Kaamya Karthikeyan became the youngest person to reach the summit of the 6,153 metres-high Mt Stok Kangri in Kashmir.

Rahul Doshi, 12-year-old Indian-origin boy has been crowned as the UK's 'Child Genius' in a popular television quiz competition.


Harry Potter creator JK Rowling named world’s highest-earning author by Forbes

Melbourne in Australia named the world’s most liveable city by The Economist. Damascus in Syria given the lowest rank – world’s worst liveable city.

PM Narendra Modi, Kailash Satyarthi, Founder of Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Global Chief People Officer and Priyanka Chopra -- feature in LinkedIn Power Profiles List of 2017

Bollywood’s highest paid 2017 Actor – Shahrukh Khan. Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra also features in top 10 – Forbes List

World’s Highest-Paid Actresses 2017 list topped by Emma Stone of USA – Forbes List

World’s highest paid actor is Mark Walhberg; Shah Rukh Khan ranks 8th – Forbes List

Highest paid female athletes of 2017 list topped by American tennis player Serena Williams - Forbes list

Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma - Asia’s richest man, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list.

Fortune's 2017 '40 Under 40' list topped by French President Emmanuel Macron

The world record for the largest samosa has been created in London. The enormous snack, weighing in at 153.1 kg, was made by a team of Muslim Aid volunteers at the East London Mosque. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has announced the winners of the 2017 International Literacy Prizes, which honours excellence and innovation in the field of global literacy.

MOU/Agreement Countries

India Nepal On Drug Demand Reduction and Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and precursor chemicals, and related matters.

India Nepal For starting construction of a new Bridge over Mechi River at Indo-Nepal border. The estimated cost of construction of the bridge is 158.65 crore rupees, which would be funded by Government of India through ADB loan.

India USA Will start a new two-by-two ministerial dialogue to enhance “peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region”.

India International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in South Korea

India has committed an annual contribution of $5,00,000 for vaccine research and development.

India Germany On technical cooperation under the Indo-German Energy Programme – Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC).

India Brazil For cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies

India Myanmar For the conservation of earthquake-damaged pagodas at Bagan, Myanmar

India Israel On an R&D and technological innovation fund which will see both countries contribute $40,00,000 each annually for five years

India Canada A set of two commemorative postage stamps will be issued jointly by the Government of India and Canada on the theme of Indian festival Diwali, which will be released on September 21, this year.

India Switzerland Two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the field of Railways

Conference/Summits/Exercises

Summit Place Extra Knowledge

Retail India Summit and Expo (RISE 2017) New Delhi

24th Congress Crystallography of International Union of

Hyderabad, Telangana

8th World Renewable Energy Technology Congress New Delhi


Meeting of Regional Technical Group on Trade, Commerce and Investment CBM

New Delhi

First meeting of the Japan-India Coordination Forum

New Delhi for Development Eastern Region Of North-

Foreign and Security Policy Consultations between India and the European Union

New Delhi

India-Asean Youth Summit Bhopal, MP to mark the 25th anniversary of the India-Asean dialogue partnership

First South Asian Youth Summit-2017 Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Scheduled in September 2017

First BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise India Scheduled in October 2017

Tech Summit 2017 New Delhi India and Canada will co-host Scheduled in November 2017

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 Hyderabad India and US will co-host Scheduled in November 2017

Rajaswa Gyansangam New Delhi Scheduled in September 2017

69th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC) Chitkara University, Punjab

Scheduled in December 2017

Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine Bengaluru

Eastern Economic Forum Russia Scheduled in September, 2017

Meeting of Heads of Governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States

Choplon Attain Kyrgyz Republic

Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative Commission Dhaka, Bangladesh Scheduled in September, 2017

15th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of BIMSTEC countries

Kathmandu, Nepal

G-7 interior ministers summit on security Italy

International conference on maternal and child health

Ethiopia

‘Indra’ Combat Exercise Russia India, Russia to Hold Major Tri- Service Scheduled in October, 2017

International Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX)

Bay of Bengal Scheduled in November, 2017 under the chairmanship of Bangladesh

India will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.

International News

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decided to open the Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan. The IAEA opened the bank to ensure the supply of nuclear fuel in the event of disruption due to political or market problems.

Google has pledged $1 million relief to flood-hit areas of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is committing $1

million from Google.org and Google employees to Goonj and Save the Children for their relief efforts.

America’s President Donald Trump awarded his first Medal of Honor to James McCloughan, an Army medic who served in Vietnam.

India and China are home to 39 per cent or 320 million of the 830 million young people worldwide who use the Internet, according to a UN report.

The first regional centre of the New Development Bank, set up by India and other BRICS nations, was officially opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In a first, Nepal has launched its climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan, leading the way in


safeguarding this endangered species, also found in India, and its habitat.

The United States issued a ban prohibiting its citizens traveling to North Korea. Qatar’s Cabinet has approved a draft law making permanent residency available to some non-citizens, marking

a partial shift from its reliance on its longstanding visa-sponsorship system. Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of

$40,000, as the world’s toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect.

Pakistan’s new cabinet included the first Hindu in a Pakistan government in more than 20 years, Darshan Lal.

In an apparent bid to take on Google-owned YouTube, Facebook has rolled out ‘Watch’ — a redesigned video

platform for creators and publishers.

Tech giant Microsoft has announced its 11th cohort of 14 late-stage start-ups for its 'Accelerator' programme

to help boost their enterprise readiness and go-to-market (GTM) activities.

Software giant Microsoft has announced its 'Project Brainwave' deep learning acceleration platform for real-

time artificial intelligence (AI).

According to global leader in broadband testing Ookla, Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the world.

UN declares Somalia free of polio

The largest volcanic region on Earth, with nearly 100 volcanoes, has been discovered two km below the surface

of the vast ice sheet in west Antarctica.

China will run the world's fastest bullet train -- the Fuxing -- between Beijing and Shanghai at 350 kms per hour, covering the 1,250-km-long distance (equal to that between Jammu to Bhopal) in just 4.5 hours from September 21.

China is going to launch the world's first nuclear power plant, the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station, that is immune to meltdown. The US and China jointly invested over ₹38,000 crore for building the reactor used in the plant.

Severe Typhoon Hato hits Hong Kong. Pakhar, the 14th typhoon of the year, landed in the Chinese city Taishan in Guangdong province, bringing gales

of up to 33 meters per second. Pakhar hit the province soon after Typhoon Hato, which landed in Zhuhai,

about 80 km from Taishan.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has signed the country’s first animal welfare bill into law, guaranteeing the legal protection of domestic and wild animals from abuse.

The island of Tuvalu was the least visited country in 2016, according to a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

National News

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh gets 20-year jail term, Rs30 lakh fine in rape cases. Judge

Jagdeep Singh awarded a consecutive sentence of 10 years for each rape case.

The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world’s first diamond futures contracts to provide

exporters with a hedging tool.

The Centre has decided to observe this 70th Independence Day on August 15 as ‘Sankalp Parva’. A order said

that August 15, 2017 be celebrated as the ‘Sankalp Parva’ or the Day of Resolve, and in 2022 our nation will

transform that resolve into ‘Siddhi’ or attainment.

On 15th August, PM Narendra Modi launched a website ‘http://gallantryawards.gov.in’ to honour all the

gallantry award winners since Independence.

The Prime Minister interacted with Young Entrepreneurs at the "Champions of Change" initiative organised by

NITI Aayog at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra.

Government has launched a video of the National Anthem in sign language and said the government addressed the physically challenged as “divyang” and not “viklang” to ensure there was no distinction. The 3.35-minute video, directed by Govind Nihalani, stars Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, along with physically


http://gallantryawards.gov.in/

challenged children performing the anthem in sign language, with the Red Fort in the background.

Based on a recent assessment carried out by the states, the government has revised downwards its targets for building affordable housing for urban poor by 2022. The government announced that it would need to construct about 1.2 crore houses as against 1.8 crore estimated earlier.

The government announced that it would need to construct about 1.2 crore houses as against 1.8 crore estimated earlier. A digital police portal under the CCTNS project, which aims to create a national database of crimes and criminals, has been launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Closure of loss-making Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company (BWEL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways approved.

SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) scheme renamed as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).

New initiative SAMADHAN (S-Smart Policing and Leadership; A -Aggressive Strategy, M-Motivation and Training, A- Actionable Intelligence; D-Dashboard for Development and Key Performance Indicators, H-Harnessing Technology for Development and Security, A-Action Plan for each Theatre and N-No access to Financing) launched to control the situation in the LWE affected states.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated ‘Yuva’, a Delhi Police initiative for skill development among the youth, as part of its community policing.

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Tanwar Chand Gehlot inaugurated a nine-day campaign on 'Clean Society-Healthy Society'.

All-India Elephant Population Estimation shows that India has 27,312 elephants. Highest being in Karnataka (6,049)

Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched ‘Gaj Yatra’, a nationwide campaign to protect elephants on the occasion of World Elephant Day.

Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan launched the “Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali” campaign to celebrate a pollution- free Diwali.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has announced November 13 as the date for conducting its National Assessment Survey (NAS) for the students of Class 3, 5, and 8

National Sports Talent Search Portal launched. The portal, nationalsportstalenthunt.com, aims to provide a direct link to help kids and youngsters reach the ministry and senior sports administrators with their achievements.

EPFO organizes Tiranga Yatra – Commemoration of 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement in Mumbai. India Permitted to Construct Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power

plants: World Bank. Pakistan has opposed the construction of these. Kishanganga on Jhelum River and Ratle on Chenab River.

India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from seabed in Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) have been extended by five years. Approved unanimously in the 23rd session of International Seabed Authority (ISA).

Government has launched the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign to reduce measles morbidity and mortality. Campaign will cover children in the age group of 9 months to less than 15 years.

According to a new study from Oxford Economics, Delhi will have the fastest growth of any city in Asia, with

the economy to be almost 50% larger in 2021 than it was at the end of last year.

IRCTC’s - Book Tatkal Tickets Now, Pay Later Scheme - People can now pay later for tickets booked under the

tatkal quota on IRCTC website

India has the most number of child deaths due to tuberculosis, according to a Lancet study which found that over 55,000 children died from the disease in the country in 2015.

India’s first World Peace University (Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU)) inaugurated in MIT, Pune.

India’s first railways disaster management village is expected to come up near Bengaluru by December 2018. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is going to establish National Sports Museum, first of its kind, at

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.

Country's first Videsh Bhavan, assimilating all Regional Passport Offices under one roof, going to be inaugurated at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.


To celebrate India’s 71st Independence day, India has gifted 30 ambulances and six buses to Nepal for

strengthening its education and health services.

In its first visit to India, American Navy’s amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor arrived in Goa as part

of defence cooperation between the two countries.

India’s largest autonomous public research and development organisation Council of Scientific and Industrial

Research (CSIR) has been ranked 9th in the world among government institutions and 75th globally, according

to the Scimago Institutions ranking World Report 2017. Topped by Chinese Academy of Sciences

State News Andhra Pradesh Government to develop green airports in Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati and Vijayawada. [Cochin International

Airport Limited (CIAL) in Kerala became the first airport in the world, to be completely powered by solar

energy]

‘Rayichapalu’, a regular catch for fishermen in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam, has been declared as one of the rarest species of fish in the world by Marine Living Resources Department, Andhra University.

CM N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Indo-UK Institute of Health (IUIH) Medicity in

Amravati. The facility is being developed in association with King’s College Hospital, London, with an

investment outlay of Rs 1,600 crore.

'First of its kind' initiative - helpline number 1100 to tackle corruption in the state launched earlier in the year is helping state to curb corruption.

Andhra Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL) and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd. (SPDCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR.

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has declared Friday as the day of the week when he will meet with the poor and underprivileged sections of Andhra Pradesh society to hear their grievances and try to resolve them. The day has been declared as the “Day of Helping Hand”.

Chhattisgarh Nineteen acres of land which housed around 70 government office buildings in Chattisgarh’s Raipur is being

converted into India’s first micro forest in order to create an oxy-zone. Delhi The National Green Tribunal, NGT has imposed an interim ban on use of non-biodegradable plastic bags which

are less than 50 microns in the New Delhi. Fine of 5,000 rupees on anyone found in possession of such banned plastic.

North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre will be set up in Delhi. A special train called the ‘mosquito terminator’ was pressed into service by the South Delhi Municipal

Corporation (SDMC), in collaboration with the Northern Railway, to spray anti-larval chemicals along the tracks to control mosquito breeding.

First edition of Rural Games or Grameen Khel Mahotsav will kick-start from Delhi and will take place between 28th August to 3rd September, 2017

Gujarat The None Of The Above (NOTA) option available for the first time in upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat.

Gujarat first state to implement coal utilisation between power units

Gujarat government has distributed NAMO e-tabs to college students across the state. NAMO- e Tab means –

New Avenues of Modern Education Through Tablets.

Goa

The Goa Legislative Assembly has passed a bill which reclassifies coconut as a `tree, ensuring legal protection

for it.


Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that Goa will be made garbage free by 2020.

Jammu & Kashmir The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to build an Eco-Park on over 34 acres of land reclaimed from

encroachers in the state’s Rajouri district.

Karnataka Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, Karnataka will become the first airport in the country to have

a helicopter-taxi (heli-taxi) service for those who cannot afford to spend time battling traffic to travel across the city.

‘Indira Canteen’, aimed at serving the poor at subsidised rates, was inaugurated in Bengaluru by Congress vice

president Rahul Gandhi.

Karnataka Government launched clouding seeding Project Varshadhari in Bengaluru under which an aircraft will spray chemicals to induce rainfall.

Samsung India has collaborated with the Government of Karnataka for a notebook donation drive to extend its support to students from government schools across Bengaluru, Kolar and Mulbaghal districts in the state.

Bengaluru-based social education start-up Meghshala Trust, supported by Tata Trusts, launched Meghshala (‘School on the Cloud’) app for Karnataka teachers.

Karnataka ropes in Microsoft to develop a unique “farm price forecasting model” using latest IT tools in a bid to help farmers.

Amazon announced a partnership with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to implement the Karnataka

government’s ‘Ksheera Bhagya’ Scheme in Bengaluru, wherein schoolchildren would be provided a glass of

milk each five days a week.

Karnataka government will be merging the existing seven health schemes to launch a unified scheme- ‘Arogya

Bhagya’ which will cover all 1.4 crore households of the state.

Madhya Pradesh The Madhya Pradesh government has contributed Rs. 2 crore to Assam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the

prevailing flood situation in the state.

Maharashtra Maha govt launches two online portals MahaDBT, MahaVASTU. MahaDBT portal will enable direct transfer of

benefits for over 40 schemes. MahaVASTU portal is an online building permission management system

The Bombay High Court has accepted Maharashtra government’s statement that it would not allow children

below the age of 14 years to participate in the ‘Dahi Handi’ festival.

Govt. launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra an initiative providing job opportunities to unemployed youth in Mumbai

Manipur A North East Centre for Ethno Medicinal Research has been inaugurated at Hengbung village in Kangpokpi

district of Manipur. Manipur's Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the '100 percent computer literate' not only in the state

but in the entire North East. Odisha Odisha will partner with Facebook to train women entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) to promote

entrepreneurship and digital literacy and organise hands-on workshops for Micro, Small and Medium women

Entrepreneurs and women SHGs on “Digital Marketing Skills” in collaboration with Facebook.

Odisha’s Government has launched ‘She Means Business’ programme of Facebook for women entrepreneurs

in Odisha.

Odisha Government will soon launch “Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran” (DAMON), a special programme

to prevent the spread of malaria in remote areas of Ganjam district.


Government of Odisha, in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry

(FICCI), will organise the first ever Odisha Travel Bazaar in October in Bhubaneshwar.

Punjab India’s first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent opened in Amritsar, Punjab.

Rajasthan Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a hanging bridge built across the Chambal river at Kota to the nation.

The bridge, over Chambal River, has the longest main span of 350 metre in the country and will also act as a

bypass to Kota City.

Tamil Nadu Bangladesh will soon open a new diplomatic station in Chennai. Telangana Microsoft ties up with Telangana to use AI to screen kids for eye issues. In association with the World Resources Institute (WRI) India – Ross Centre and the Indian School of Business

(ISB), Telangana govt launched ‘Smart Streets Lab’ in Hyderabad to boost women and road safety.

Telangana government launches 181 helpline for distressed women

Uttarakhand The World Book Fair 2017 held in the capital city of Uttarakhand from August 28, with the state government

offering discounts on books based on the lives of national figures.

Uttar Pradesh The state has initiated a cleanliness drive ‘Swachata Ka Shankhnad’ in the state. The centre has approved a proposal to rename the Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh after RSS

ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.

Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra campaign launched by UP government to focus on cleanliness along the banks of

Ganga river and maintain hygiene.

The country’s first aviation university at Fursatganj in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district inaugurated on August

18. Air Vice Marshal (retired) Nalin Tandon has been appointed as the vice-chancellor.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has decided to end the process of holding interview for selection of candidates for

the government jobs in all the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories.

Finance and Banking News

The Reserve Bank’s Central Board has approved the transfer of surplus to the government of India amounting to Rs 306.59 billion for the year ended June 30, 2017. RBI follows a July to June accounting year.

Reserve Bank of India on 19th August 2017 called for recapitalization of state-run banks to help them resolve

the NPAs issue in a time-bond manner as bad loans at 9.6% of the system is not acceptable.

RBI will shortly issue new banknotes of Rs 50 denomination in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. The base

colour of the new notes will be fluorescent blue and its dimension will be 66 mm x 135 mm. It will have a motif

of Hampi with Chariot on the reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage along with the Swachh Bharat

logo, year of printing, numeral 50 in devnagiri and the language panel.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given in-principle approval for Public

Sector Banks to amalgamate through an Alternative Mechanism (AM). The Alternative Mechanism will be

decided by PM Modi.

The government has notified the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act under which it can authorise the RBI to

issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process to recover bad loans. Under the Banking


Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2017, the RBI can issue directions to banks for resolution of stressed assets.

The government has clarified that banks importing gold and precious metals will have to pay 3 per cent tax

under the GST which can be claimed as input tax credit.

Of the 56 regional rural banks (RRBs), Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank

recorded net profit of more than Rs 150 crore during 2016-17. These are among the 49 RRBs that recorded a

profit in 2016-17.

State Bank of India has launched a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative, SBI Gram Seva, which will

work in the areas of health, education, environment and rural infrastructure.

According to the Finance Ministry Data, the country’s largest lender, SBI, accounts for over 27 per cent of the

total amount owed to public sector banks by wilful defaulters - tops share of wilful default to PSBs.

Spice Digital Limited (SDL) has received the final licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), allowing the

company to process bill payments as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) in the Bharat Bill Payment

System (BBPS).

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has been given

scheduled bank status by RBI.

Vijaya Bank has launched ‘100 Digital Villages’ initiative in an effort to bring residents of these villages under

the formal banking system.

ICICI Bank has announced the launch of Instant Credit Card Service, which will enable its savings account

customers to get a credit card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner. This is the first-of-its-

kind offering in the Indian banking industry.

State-run UCO Bank has announced that it has Rs 4,500 crore exposure in the identified 12 large non-

performing accounts and additional Rs 3,000 crore in the second list of 21 stressed accounts.

Corporation Bank has bagged the best performance awards for SHG-bank linkage programme for Karnataka for

2015-16 and 2016-17 from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has launched a Central Database

(Christened as ‘Envoy’) of all Insurance Sales Persons in the country.

Business News

The government has banned exports of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles with purity above 22 carats in a bid to check round tripping of the precious metal.

Country’s top mobile operator Bharti Airtel has partnered with Symantec to provide cyber defense to

enterprises.

HCL Technologies has completed the acquisition of Urban Fulfilment Services, LLC. HDFC Ergo General Insurance has completed the merger with L&T General Insurance, marking the first

amalgamation in the country's non-life insurance sector. E-commerce major Flipkart has acquired global technology major eBay.

Infosys to acquire Brilliant Basics, a London-based product design and customer experience (CX) innovator.

Messaging and social media technology company Hike Messenger has acquired Bengaluru-based tech startup

Creo.

Headquartered in San Jose, Northern California, PayPal, one of the world’s largest Internet payment companies

would acquire Swift Financial, an online lender for small businesses in the US.

Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Cycle Computing, which will help make it easier for Azure customers to use High Performance Computing (HPC).

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Google India have launched Android Skill

Development programme to impart mobile development training on the Android and web platform and

improve the quality of mobile app development ecosystem in India.


BSEs India INX (India International Exchange) has received an approval from the Securities and Exchange Board

of India to commence trading in gold options contracts from August 30. It will be the first one in India to

commence trading.

Airport Authority of India (AAI)-Ola partnership to facilitate smart mobility service across airports Walmart and Google have announced a new partnership that will enable voice shopping through Google

Assistant, Google’s virtual assistant that lives on devices like its smart speaker, Google Home.

Economy News The government has ordered state-run oil companies to raise subsidised cooking gas (LPG) prices by Rs 4

per cylinder every month to eliminate all the subsidies by March next year. Government approved an MoU signed by India and other BRICS nations for setting up of an agriculture

research platform. Centre has set up a new exchange-traded fund Bharat-22 to sell government stakes in 22 firms under its

asset sale programme. It will feature four banking stocks — SBI, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda and Indian

Bank — other than CPSEs such as Nalco, ONGC, IOC, BPCL and Coal India. ICICI Prudential is the fund

manager.

The Government of India has launched a new sub-scheme named Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana

(AGEY) as part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

The government has raised the creamy layer ceiling by Rs 2 lakh and announced setting up of a

commission to work out sub-categorisation within Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for a "more equitable

distribution of reservation benefits". OBC families earning up to Rs 8 lakh per annum will not be

considered in the creamy layer. Earlier, this ceiling was Rs 6 lakh per annum.

The government has clarified that selling of space for advertisements in print media would attract 5 and

18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST), depending on the terms of the contract between the

newspaper, advertisement agency and the client.

The Union Cabinet has approved promulgation of an ordinance to suitably amend the Goods and Services

Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017. The approval will allow increasing the maximum rate at which the

Compensation Cess can be levied from 15% to 25%. The Cabinet approved raising a levy on luxury cars

and sports utility vehicles to 25 per cent from 15 per cent.

The Union Cabinet has extended the criteria for deciding the creamy layer under the Other Backward Classes

(OBC) category to Public Sector Undertakings and financial institutions. Earlier it was not implemented in

PSUs and financial institutions like banks and insurance companies. Now the same limit of Rs 8 lakh, which is

applicable on central government, will also be applicable on PSUs and financial institution

Indian economy’s growth slows down in first quarter of the current fiscal 2017-18 ended June at 5.7%, as

compared to 7.9 per cent in the same period a year ago.

The Rajya Sabha has passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which will enable the

government to empower the RBI to direct lender banks to act against big loan defaulters. The bill, which

amends the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, will replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance,

2017.

The three-decade old National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has been merged with another central police

organisation — the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) by the government with an aim to

improve efficiency of development works related to policing.

Base year to measure WPI revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12

According to The Economic survey, extreme weather events are costing India $9-10 billion annually and climate change is projected to impact agricultural productivity with increasing severity from 2020 to the end of the century.


With 1,19,100 deaths, India is among the five nations -- Indonesia, the DR Congo, China and Pakistan --

that accounted for 73 per cent of rheumatic heart disease deaths globally in 2015, a study has showed.

Looking to preserve India's rich food heritage, regulator FSSAI along with Yes Bank is creating an archive of

recipes and plans to take other initiatives such as setting up hubs and organising food festivals. Also, a

dedicated online portal 'FOODCAST' will be designed to disseminate these recipes and also guide people

on which food to eat and when.

Asia Index Private Ltd has announced the launch of S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index. It has been launched to track the performance of state-run companies in which the central government has divested its stake. S&P BSE Bharat 22 has been licensed to ICICI Prudential AMC for development of an exchange traded fund (ETF) based on the index.

Gobindobhog rice,a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication

(GI) status. As a result of getting the GI tag, as the certification is also called, rice from other regions or

rice of other varieties cannot be branded as ‘Gobindobhog’.

Science & Technology The first phase of National Cyber Coordination Centre, set up to scan the country’s web traffic to detect cyber

security threats, has been made operational now

In a first, US scientists have developed a plant-based Zika vaccine that could be more potent, safer and cheaper to produce than other medicines being developed for the disease. The vaccine, developed using tobacco plant, targets a key protein — called DIII — which envelopes the outside of the Zika virus and plays a key role for the virus to infect people.

A group of Indian scientists has recently discovered a new frog species named Nasikabatrachus bhupathi, which has a face of a pig. The frog has been named after the Indian herpetologist S. Bhupathy, who died in 2014.

A team of Indian researchers has discovered two new primitive species of earthworm in the Western Ghats mountain ranges in Kerala. The two new species are named Drawida polydiverticulata and Drawida thomasi.

BitBay, one of the top ten cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, has launched a dedicated platform for trade and exchange of digital currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, ether, Lisk, monero, dash and game credits. BitBay claims to be the only exchange in India that provides trade and exchange of multiple cryptocurrencies, high level security standards, including a “cold wallets” policy and two-factor authentication solutions.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) named an asteroid after a young Indian scientist Dr. Guneshwar

Thangjam. The asteroid, which orbits the sun is called ‘Thangjam Asteroid’ or ‘11806 Thangjam’.

Scientists at the University of Toronto in Canada developed a new injectable tissue bandage that can repair

damaged heart without surgery

British scientists have developed the world’s smallest surgical robot which could transform daily operations for

tens of thousands of patients. The robot is called Versius.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has planned to launch a full-fledged niche Earth observation

(EO) satellite — called the Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite or HySIS — using a critical chip it has developed.

ISRO and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA)) to develop high speed data link for

meteorological data exchange

SpaceX has successfully launched Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) ‘Spaceborne Computer’ towards the International Space Station (ISS) using Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA has launched the latest in a series of satellites aimed at ensuring astronauts at the International Space Station can communicate with Earth.

The NASA has successfully launched Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M (TDRS-M) into orbit.


Apps Launches/Portal/Helpline

APP/Portal Features/Use “e-RaKAM” (Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi)

an e-platform to trade agriculture commodities to ensure better returns to farmers and access to larger markets to buyers.

“AGRI UDAAN” programme Launched by Hyderabad-based ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM). Selected startups will be trained to develop innovative agriculture products.

Bespoke mobile wallet(mobile payment App)

State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched it Has been developed and issued by MobiKwik on behalf of BSNL.

1. MyFASTag (Launched by National

and Highways Authority FASTag Partner of India)

1. Consumer App. A consumer can purchase or recharge FASTags on this App 2. Merchant App. Common Services Centre, banking partners and vehicle dealers can sell and enroll FASTag through this App

Defence News

A student of Chennai’s SRM University, Dacharla Panduranga Rohith developed a Nano Missile on 21 August 2017 recognised by World Records of India.

A six-member all-woman team of the Indian Navy will set sail to circumnavigate the globe on the sailing vessel INSV Tarini. This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-woman crew. The expedition has been titled ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’.

India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility, a joint venture between the $2.5 billion Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd., was inaugurated near Hyderabad.

The Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna, which was part of the First Training Squadron of the Navy, was decommissioned with full armed forces honours at a ceremony held at the south jetty of the Southern Naval Command.

The exercise Yudh Abhyas – 2017 between India and USA, will be held from September 14-27 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the US.

An Indian-built Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) has been commissioned by the Sri Lankan navy at a ceremony in Colombo harbour. Constructed by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in India, it is the first-ever brand new AOPV purchased from a foreign ship builder for Sri Lanka.

Indian Navy’s second LCU (landing craft utility) Mark IV L52 ship was commissioned at Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. LCU L52 is the second LCU Mk-IV class ship to be inducted into the Indian Navy.

Proposal passed to buy six Apache AH64E attack helicopters for the army from the United States. They are expected to cost around Rs 4,168 crore.

Sports News

Tournament Winner Other Info South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 Championship

India Beat Nepal

MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)

Beat Bengaluru Hockey

National Blitz Chess Championship R.R. Laxman Championship held at Kolkata

74th National Squash Championships – men’s singles

Saurav Ghoshal

74th National Squash Championships – women’s singles

Joshna Chinappa


Asian Shotgun Championship Ankur Mittal Championship held at Astana,

Kazakhstan Lagos International challenge – men’s singles C Rahul Yadav

Lagos International challenge – men’s doubles Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy

Bulgaria Open International Series title– men’s singles

Lakshya Sen

WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title Vijender Singh Beated Chinese opponent Zulpikar Maimaitiali

Citi Open title Alexander Zverev Beat Kevin Anderson

Rogers Cup– men’s singles Germany’s Alexander Zverev Swiss Roger Federer

Rogers Cup– women’s singles Elina Svitolina Caroline Wozniacki Spanish Super Cup Real Madrid Beat Barcelona

FIBA Asia Cup 2017 (Basketball Championship) Australia Beat Iran

UEFA Male Player of the Year award Cristiano Ronaldo

UEFA Female Player of the Year award Lieke Martens

#UEL Player of the Season Paul Pogba of france

Belgian Grand Prix 2017 Lewis Hamilton Beat Sebastian Vettel

Sports Events

Event Place Extra Info Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo, Japan

Olympic Games 2024 Paris, France

Olympic Games 2028 Los Angeles, USA

2018 ITTF Team World Cup London International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)

Sports

India has bagged a gold medal in the skeet mixed team event . The Indian duo of Mairaj Ahmad Khan and

Rashmmi Rathore bagged it for India.

Budding India shooter Shapath Bhardwaj, aged 15, has become the country’s youngest athlete to figure in the

government’s Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.

PV Sindhu Becomes Second Indian To Win Silver At World Badminton Championship.

Oinam Bembem Devi Becomes Second Indian Female Footballer To Win The Arjuna Award.

Indian captain Virat Kohli became the leading ODI run-scorer in 2017. Kohli, who has now scored 907 runs this

year, overtook South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, who has 814 runs in 2017.

India beat Austria 4-3 to end European tour on a high

Lionel Messi becomes the first player to score 350 La Liga goals

Legendary Sprinter Usain Bolt retires.

England's all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney has announced his retirement from international football.

Neymar has completed his record-shattering transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, signing a five-year

deal with the French club after it triggered his 222 million euros ($263m) release clause. The 25-year-old Brazil

forward is committed to PSG until June 2022.

U-19 cricket Asia Cup to be held in November 2017 has been shifted from Bengaluru to Malaysia following the

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s objection to the tournament being held in India.

USA tops the IAAF World Championships 2017 medal tally (30 medals). It was held in London. ‘Hero-the

Hedgehog’ was a Mascot of 2017 IAAF World Championships and ‘Whizbee-the Bee’ was the Mascot for the Para

Athletics.


Committee

Head of Committee Purpose K. Viswanathan Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has set up a committee “on fair market

conduct”.

Justice B N Srikrishna To study various issues relating to data protection in the country and suggest a draft data protection Bill. Formed by Union Government.

Justice BN Srikrishna To review the Institutionalization of Arbitration Mechanism in India has submitted its report.

Maj. General (Retired) B C Khanduri

Committee has recently recommended 100% pension to widow of deceased soldier

Committee of joint secretaries

Constituted by GOI for ensuring enhanced affordability, availability and accessibility of drugs for the citizens.

K Rajeswara Rao To review the National Mineral Policy, 2008, and suggest a new framework will submit its report by October-end.

Tarun Ramadorai Committee on Household Finance has suggested that banks link their home loan rates to the RBI’s repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks, instead of the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR).

D.B. Shekatkar The government has accepted the first batch of 65 recommendations of the Lt General D.B. Shekatkar (retd) committee which will result in redeployment of 57,000 personnel for various other required duties.

Rankings

Index India’s Rank Other Information 2017 Global Retirement Index

43rd (last) Index given by French asset management company Natixis Global. Switzerland, Norway and Iceland topped the ranking.

Loans from Banks

From To Amount Purpose World Bank India US $ 1 billion For funding Institutional Development and for construction of

priority infrastructure projects for municipal waste water treatment and solid waste treatment on the main stem of Ganga in the five Ganga basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

World Bank India $24.64 million for ecosystem service improvement project

from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of the World Bank

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

India US$ 329 million For Gujarat Rural Roads Project

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

India US$ 3 billion to US$ 4 billion

For ADB’s Indian Operations including support for infrastructure projects. For the period 2018-22


ADB Power

Grid Corp US$ 500 million For Power Grid Corp’s various projects.

NABARD Rajasthan government

Rs 1,350-cr For creation of rural infrastructure in the state under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

New Development Bank

China, India and Russia

US$ 1.4 billion out of which US$ 470 million to India

Total amount for sustainable development project in 3 countries. Loan to India for Madhya Pradesh’s Multi- Village Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme Project.

ICICI Bank NTPC Limited Rs. 3,000-cr For partially expenditure. Funding NTPC’s capital

Deadlines/ Important Dates

What for Deadline/Date Medical devices will have to mandatorily carry maximum retail price (MRP) on packages from

January 1, 2018

Aadhaar now mandatory to identify deceased while registering death from October 1, 2017

For linking Aadhaar to various government schemes for benefits December 31, 2017

Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)

Three Indian firms — Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and Bharti Airtel — are among Forbes’ list of the world’s

100 most innovative companies, where Salesforce.com has replaced Tesla Motors on the top position.

Books Book Author/s Other Info Khushwant Singh: In Wisdom and in Jest

Vijay Narain Shankar and Onkar Singh

On noted author and journalist Khushwant Singh

Kadve Vachan Jain saint Acharya Tarun Sagar Maharaj

The world’s shortest woman Jyoti Amge unveiled this 51-feet high book.

I am HIV positive, so what? Jayanta Kalita On the career of Manipur bodybuilder, K Pradip kumar Singh, known for his personal struggle against HIV AIDS

I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan

Published by HarperCollins India.

Obituaries Name Profession Other Info Santosh Mohan Dev Politician Former Heavy Industries Union Minister

Sanwar Lal Jat Politician Former Minister Resources in government of the State for Narendra Water Modi

Gyan Singh Sohanpal Politician Former West Bengal Minister, freedom Fighter and ten-time legislator. Fondly called ‘Chacha’ (uncle)

Rishang Keishing Politician Former Manipur chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP

PVRK Prasad Bureaucrat Senior Retired IAS Officer and Additional Secretary to former PM Narasimha Rao


Pushpa Mitra Bhargava Scientist

L.N. Shastry Singer-musician Kannada

Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar

Dhrupad maestro

Shanta Serbjeet Singh Dance critic Also Sangeet Natak Akademi member

Ramananda Sengupta Cinematographer India's oldest cinematographer Sitaram Panchal Actor

Shanmugasundaram Actor Tamil

Shobha Sen (also known as Sova Sen)

Actress Bengali theatre and film actress

Vijay Nambisan Poet and Writer

Ahmed Khan Football Player Double Olympian and one of the biggest and brightest stars in Indian football history

Tobe Hoope Director American

Paul Saheb known as S Paul Photography

Angel Nieto Spanish Motorcycling legend

Sam Shepard American Playwright also praised as an actor, screenwriter, and director

Sir Bruce Forsyth TV entertainer and showbiz legend

Jerry Lewis Actor and comic legend

American

Dick Gregory Stand-up comedian, actor and civil rights activist

American

Betty Cuthbert Player Australian ‘Olympic legend’

Stephen Wooldridge Player Australia’s former Olympic and world cycle champion

Tom Pritchard Cricketer Zealand’s oldest cricketer

Ted Corbett Sports Journalist Born in England

Dr Ruth Pfau Doctor A German Doctor Popularly known as Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa’

Brian Aldiss Author He is from United Kingdom. Known as “grand old man” of science fiction.

Yisrael Kristal World’s oldest man. Born in Poland

Tony de Brum Politician Former Marshall Islands foreign minister. Also champion of Paris climate agreement.

Important Days

Date Day Extra Info 01 August World Breast Feeding Day

06 August Hiroshima Day, Anti-Nuclear Day

07 August National Handloom Day

08 August World Senior Citizen’s Day

09 August Quit India Day 75th Anniversary. Theme - Sankalp se Siddhi-the attainment through resolve

09 August International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

10 August World Bio Fuel Day

12 August International Youth Day Theme - Youth Building Peace


12 August World Elephant Day

15 August India’s Independence Day

19 August World Photography Day

19 August Humanitarian Day

20 August Harmony Day

20 August World Mosquito Day

23 August International Day for the

Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

29 August National Sports Day To mark the birthday of the hockey player Dhyan Chand

30 August Small Industry Day

Month Special RBI cuts key lending rates by 25 basis points

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut its key policy rate by 25 basis

points (bps), citing a sharp fall in consumer price inflation.

MPC reduced the repo rate—at which the central bank infuses liquidity in the banking system—to 6%, the lowest

since November 2010, from 6.25%.

New Rates:

Policy Repo Rate – 6.00%

Reverse Repo Rate – 5.75%

Marginal Standing Facility Rate – 6.25%

Bank Rate – 6.25%

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) – 4.00% Unchanged

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) – 20.00% Unchanged Other highlightsFocus on keeping headline inflation close to 4 percent on durable basis

Growth forecast unchanged at 7.3 percent for the current fiscal.

Forex reserves at $392.9 billion as on 28 July.

Next MPC meeting on 3 and 4 October, 2017.

Supreme Court Declares Right to Privacy as Fundamental Right The Supreme Court of India pronounced that individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar ruled that the right to privacy is intrinsic to life and liberty, thus coming under Article 21, and comes under the various fundamental freedoms in PART III of the Indian Constitution.

All the nine judges arrive at the same conclusion, though through different but concurring judgments, that

right to privacy is intrinsic to right to life and liberty. With this now India has total seven fundamental rights. Right to equality, Right to freedom, Right against exploitation, Right to freedom of religion, Cultural and

Educational rights, and Right to constitutional remedies are the 6 fundamental rights of India.

National Sports Awards 2017 Conferred

President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind conferred National Sports & Adventure Awards 2017 in a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Here is the list of awardees:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2017: Devendra Jhajaria (para-athlete), Sardar Singh (hockey)


Dronacharya Awards 2017: Late Dr. R Gandhi (athletics), Heera Nand Kataria (kabaddi), GSSV Prasad (badminton), Brij Bhushan Mohanty (boxing – Lifetime), PA Raphel (hockey – Lifetime), Sanjoy Chakraverthy (shooting – Lifetime), Roshan Lal (wrestling – Lifetime)

Arjuna Awards 2017: Jyothi Surekha Vennam (archery), Khushbir Kaur (athletics), Rajiv Arokia (athletics), Prashanthi Singh (basketball), Laishram Devendro Singh (boxing), Cheteshwar Pujara (cricket), Harmanpreet Kaur (cricket), Oinam Bembem Devi (football), SSP Chawrasia (golf), SV Sunil (hockey), Jasvir Singh (kabaddi), Prakash Nanjappa (shooting), Anthony Amalraj (table tennis), Saketh Myneni (tennis), Satyawart Kadian (wrestling), Mariyappan (para-athlete), Varun Singh Bhati (para-athlete)

Dhyan Chand Award 2017: Bhupender Singh (Athletics), Syed Shahid Hakim (Football), Sumarai Tete (Hockey)

India’s first private sector-built navigation satellite IRNSS-1H fails after launch: ISRO

India’s first private sector built satellite IRNSS-1H today on August 31 failed after its launch from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

The new satellite was meant to augment the existing 7 satellites of the NavIC constellation. The Indian

Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by India on par with US-based GPS.

The IRNSS-1H satellite was to have been slung into orbit at around 507 km above the earth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had named ‘NavIC’ (Navigation with Indian Constellation) which offers services like terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, navigation aide for hikers and travellers, visual and voice navigation for drivers.

Launched on board PSLV-C39, IRNSS-1H is a back-up navigation satellite for IRNSS-1A, one of the seven satellites in the constellation, as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board had stopped functioning.

The launch happened from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C39 in its 41st flight was carrying the 1,425 kg satellite built and tested by ISRO along with a consortium of six small and medium industries.

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