the hindu review|current affairs| august 2018 the most ...€¦ · kumar, ashish malik, jitender...

THE HINDU REVIEW|CURRENT AFFAIRS| August 2018

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The Most Important Current Affairs August 2018 Asian Games 2018 Concludes | Complete List of Medals |

Important Highlights India’s final tally at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and

Palembang, Indonesia read 69 medals – 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze to surpass the medal count from 2010 Games in Guangzhou, China and match the gold medal tally from the first-ever Asian Games in 1951.

The games saw India create new national records. The Games got underway with Neeraj Chopra as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Rani Rampal was the flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

1st In 18th Asian Games 2018:

1st medal in Sepak Takraw, Rahi Sarnobat became 1st Indian woman to win Asian Games gold in shooting,

Vinesh Phogat became 1st Indian woman to win gold in wrestling

It was the 1st time that Indian Kabaddi Team could not win Gold.

Swapna Barman became 1st Indian to win an Asiad gold in the women's heptathlon event.

Neeraj Chopra became 1st Indian javelin thrower to win an Asiad gold.

Dutee Chand Won India’s first medal in 20 years in a women's 100 event.

Bajrang Punia (Wrestling) won 1st Gold Medal for India in Asian Games 2018.

List of GOLD MEDALS Won by India:

ATHLETICS

Event Winners

1. Men's Shot put Tajinderpal Singh Toor

2. Men's Javelin Throw Neeraj Chopra

3. Men's 800m Manjit Singh

4. Men's Triple Jump Arpinder Singh

5. Women's Heptathlon Swapna Barman

6. Men's 1500m Jinson Johnson

7. Women's 4x400m Relay M. R. Poovamma, Saritaben

Gaikwad, Hima Das, V.K. Vismaya

BOXING

8. Men's Light Fly (49kg) Amit Panghal BRIDGE

9. Men's Pair Pranab Bardhan, Shibhnath

Sarkar

ROWING

10. Men's Quadruple Sculls

Sawarn Singh, Dattu Baban Bhokanal,

Om Prakash, Sukhmeet Singh

SHOOTING

11. Men's 10-metre air pistol Saurabh Chaudhary

12. Women's 25-metre pistol Rahi Sarnobat

TENNIS

13. Men's Doubles Rohan Bopanna, Divij

Sharan WRESTLING

14. Men's freestyle 65 kg Bajrang Punia

15. Women's freestyle 50 kg Vinesh Phogat

List of SILVER MEDALS Won by India:

ARCHERY

Event Winners

1. Women's Team Compound

Muskan Kirar, Madhumita Kumari,

Jyothi Surekha Vennam

2. Men's Team Compound

Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan,

Aman Saini

ATHLETICS

3. Men's 800m Jinson Johnson

4. Women's 400m Hima Das

5. Men's 400m Muhammad Anas

6. Women's 100m Dutee Chand

7. Women's 200m Dutee Chand

8. Men's 400m Hurdles Dharun Ayyasamy

9. Women's 3000m

Steeplechase Sudha Singh

10. Women's Long jump Neena Varakil

11. Mixed 4 x 400 metres relay

Rajiv Arokia, Muhammed Anas,

Hima Das, M. R. Poovamma

12. Men's 4x400m Relay

Dharun Ayyasamy, Kunhu Mohammed,

Rajiv Arokia, Muhammed Anas

BADMINTON 13. Women's Singles PV Sindhu

EQUESTRIAN

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14. Individual Eventing Fouaad Mirza

15. Team Eventing

Fouaad Mirza, Rakesh Kumar,

Ashish Malik, Jitender Singh

HOCKEY

16. Women's Tournament Indian Women's Team

KABADDI

17. Women's Tournament Indian Women's Team

KURASH

18. Women's 52 kg Pincky Balhara

SAILING

19. 49er FX women Shweta Shervegar, Varsha

Gautham

SHOOTING

20. Men's 10-metre air rifle Deepak Kumar

21. Men's trap Lakshay Sheoran

22. Men's 50-metre rifle three

positions Sanjeev Rajput

23. Men's double trap Shardul Vihan

SQUASH

24. Women's Team

Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Joshna Chinappa,

Tanvi Khanna, Sunayna Kuruvilla

List of BRONZE MEDALS Won by India:

Sl. No. Event Winners

ATHLETICS

1. Women's 1500 m PU Chitra

2. Women's

Discus Throw Seema Punia

BADMINTON

3. Women's Singles Saina Nehwal

BOXING

4. Men's Middle

(75kg) Vikas Krishan Yadav

BRIDGE

5. Men's Team

Sumit Mukherjee, Debabrata Majumder,

Jaggy Shivdasani, Rajeshwar Tewari, Ajay Khare, Raju Tolani

6. Mixed Team

Bachiraju Satyanarayana, Rajeev Khandelwal, Gopinath Manna,

Himani Khandelwal, Hema Deora, Kiran Nadar

HOCKEY

7. Men's Tournament Indian Men's Team

KABADDI

8. Men's Tournament Indian Men's Team

KURASH

9. Women's 52kg Malaprabha Jadhav

ROWING

10. Men's Lightweight

single sculls Dushyant Chauhan

11. Men's Lightweight

double sculls Rohit Kumar, Bhagwan Singh

SAILING

12. 49er Men Varun Thakkar, Ganapathy

Chengappa

13. Mixed Open Laser

4.7 Harshita Tomar

SEPAK TAKRAW

14. Men's Team Regu Indian Men's Team

SHOOTING

15. 10-metre air rifle

mixed team Ravi Kumar, Apurvi Chandela

16. Men's 10-metre air

pistol Abhishek Verma

17. Women's 10-metre

air pistol Heena Sidhu

SQUASH

18. Men's singles Saurav Ghosal

19. Women's singles Joshna Chinappa

20. Women's singles Dipika Pallikal Karthik

21. Men's Team

Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Sandhu, Ramit Tandon, Mahesh

Mangaonkar

TABLE TENNIS

22. Men's Team

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Achanta Sharath Kamal,

Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar

23. Mixed doubles Achanta Sharath Kamal, Manika

Batra

TENNIS

24. Women's Singles Ankita Raina -

25. Men's Singles Prajnesh Gunneswaran

WRESTLING

26. Women's freestyle

68 kg Divya Kakran

WUSHU

27. Women's Sanda 60

kg (Bronze) Roshibina Naorem

28. Men's Sanda 56 kg Santhosh Kumar

29. Men's Sanda 60 kg Surya Bhanu Pratap Singh

30. Men's Sanda 65 kg Narender Grewal

Top 3 Countries in the MEDAL TALLY along with India are as follows:

RANK COUNTRY GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL

1 China 132 92 65 289

2 Japan 75 56 74 205

3 Republic of

Korea 49 58 70 177

8 India 15 24 30 69







A Brief on the 3rd Bi-monthly Policy Statement of RBI In 3rd Bi-monthly Policy Statement, RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) raised policy rates by 25 basis points to 6.5% on account of inflationary pressures arising due to hike in minimum support price. It increased the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.5%. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.25%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.75%. RBI also raised the average inflation projection for the second half of the year to 4.8%. RBI expects inflation to edge higher to 5% in the first quarter of next fiscal year. The government has fixed the MSP at 150% of the cost of production of all kharif crops.

Winners of mathematics’ prestigious Fields medal, known as the Nobel prize for math.

Akshay Venkatesh, a renowned Indian-Australian mathematician, is one of four winners of mathematics’ prestigious Fields medal, known as the Nobel prize for math. He has won the Fields Medal for his profound contributions to an exceptionally broad range of subjects in mathematics. The other three winners are: Caucher Birkar, Germany’s Peter Scholze & Alessio Figalli, an Italian mathematician at ETH Zurich.

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Governors for 7

States President Ram Nath Kovind appointed governors for

seven states — Bihar, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Tripura.

Governor Satya Pal Malik transferred from Bihar to Jammu and Kashmir to replace NN Vohra.

Senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon has been appointed the Governor of Bihar, replacing Malik.

Kaptan Singh Solanki, the Governor of Haryana, has been transferred to Tripura, while Satyadev Narayan Arya will be the new Haryana governor.

Tripura governor Tathagata Roy has been transferred to Meghalaya, and Ganga Prasad, the Governor of

Meghalaya, has been transferred to Sikkim. Baby Rani Maurya will be the new Governor of Uttarakhand.

Independence Day Gallantry Awards Announced:

Complete List of Winners On the occasion of 72nd Independence Day, President

Ram Nath Kovind approved 131 Gallantry Awards to members of Armed Forces personnel and Paramilitary Forces.

Defence Ministry said that one Kirti Chakra, three Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), three Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), 11 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), 20 Shaurya Chakras and 93 Sena Medals (Gallantry) will be awarded.

Braveheart hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Sepoy Vrahma Pal Singh has been shortlisted for the Kirti Chakra award posthumously.

Major Aditya Kumar's name has been mentioned on the list of 20 armed forces personnel for the Shaurya Chakra award. Rifleman Aurangzeb will also be conferred with the third highest gallantry award.

Six women officers of the Indian Navy will be awarded Nao Sena medals. They were part of the expedition to circumnavigate the globe. Following gallantry awards have been conferred to Army personnel:

Award No’s Remarks Kirti Chakra 01 Posthumous

Shaurya Chakra 14 Including 02 posthumous

Sena Medal (Gallantry)

96 Including 08 posthumous

Mention-in-Despatches

27 Including 04 posthumous

Sl. No.

RANK AND NAME Service

KIRTI CHAKRA 1.

A. SEPOY VRAHMA PAL SINGH,

RAJPUT REGIMENT (POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

SHAURYA CHAKRA 1. Lieutenant Colonel Arjun Sharma,

The JAT Regiment ARMY

2. MAJOR PAWAN GAUTAM, 44TH BATTALION THE RASHTRIYA

RIFLES

ARMY

3. A. MAJOR ADITYA KUMAR, THE GARHWAL RIFLES

ARMY

4. MAJOR PAWAN KUMAR, THE JAT REGIMENT

ARMY

5. CAPTAIN KANINDER PAUL SINGH, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

6. CAPTAIN VARMA JAYESH RAJESH, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

7.

Naib Subedar Anil Kumar Dhayia, First Battalion The Parachute

Regiment (Special Forces)

ARMY







8. NAIB SUBEDAR VIJAY KUMAR YADAV,

THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY REGIMENT

ARMY

9. HAVILDAR KUL BAHADUR THAPA, THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT

(SPECIAL FORCES)

ARMY

10. HAVILDAR JAWEED AHMAD BHAT, SENA MEDAL, THE

PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES)

ARMY

11. GUNNER RANJIT SINGH, THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

ARMY

12. RIFLEMAN AURANGZAB, THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR LIGHT

INFANTRY REGIMENT (POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

13. RIFLEMAN RATHVA LILESH BHAI, THE ASSAM RIFLES

ARMY

14. RIFLEMAN JAIPRAKASH ORAON, THE ASSAM RIFLES

(POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

15. CAPTAIN P RAJKUMAR NAVY 16. SHRI AS KRISHNA, HEAD

CONSTABLE, CRPF, SUMBAL, BANDIPORA (J&K)

MHA

17. SHRI K DINESH RAJA, CONSTABLE, CRPF,

SUMBAL, BANDIPORA (J&K)

MHA

18. SHRI PRAFULLA KUMAR, CONSTABLE, CRPF, SUMBAL, BANDIPORA (J&K)

MHA

19. SHRI KULDEEP SINGH CHAHAR, DEPUTY COMMANDANT, CRPF, SHEEP COMPLEX, PULWAMA,

(J&K)

MHA

20. SHRI DHANAWADE RAVINDRA BABAN, CRPF, SHEEP COMPLEX,

PULWAMA, (J&K) (POSTHUMOUS)

MHA

BAR TO SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY) 1. CAPTAIN RAKESH NAIR, SENA

MEDAL THE ARMOURED CORPS

ARMY

2. CAPTAIN UMESH LAMBA, SENA MEDAL

FIRST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL

FORCES)

ARMY

3. NAIK NAZIR AHMED WANI, SENA MEDAL

THE JAMMU & KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY REGIMENT

ARMY

SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY) 1. LIEUTENANT COLONEL

MAHENDRA PAL SINGH BHADORIA

ARMY

THE SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY 2. LIEUTENANT COLONEL SAMAR

RAGHAV, THE KUMAON REGIMENT

ARMY

3. LIEUTENANT COLONEL RAKESH TOKAS,

FIRST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL

FORCES)

ARMY

4. MAJOR RANVEER SINGH, THE JAT REGIMENT

ARMY

5. MAJOR JITENDRA SINGH MEHTA, THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

ARMY

6. MAJOR JAMES JACOB, THE MADRAS REGIMENT

ARMY

7. MAJOR RAMAN GAKHAR, THE SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY

ARMY

8. MAJOR AVIJIT SINGH, 6TH BATTALION THE MAHAR

REGIMENT

ARMY

9. MAJOR VIKRAM SHARMA, BRIGADE OF THE GUARDS

ARMY

10. MAJOR ABHISHEK SINHA, THE PUNJAB REGIMENT

ARMY

11. MAJOR DEEPAK SINGH, THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS

ARMY

12. MAJOR KHADASE NANDKISHOR DIPAK, THE REGIMENT OF

ARTILLERY

ARMY

13. MAJOR KAMAL KUMAR CHHETRI, THE ARMY SERVICE CORPS

ARMY

14. MAJOR ADITYA SHARMA, THE GRENADIERS REGIMENT

ARMY

15. MAJOR HEMANT DUTTA, THE SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY

ARMY

16. MAJOR V RAHUL SAXENA, THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL

FORCES)

ARMY

17. MAJOR JAIKANT SINGH, THE ENGINEER CORPS

ARMY

18. MAJOR BHANU RANA, THE NAGA REGIMENT

ARMY

19. MAJOR MAYANK MISHRA, THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

ARMY

20. MAJOR SUMEET BHARDWAJ, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

21. MAJOR SHAILENDRA KUMAR YADAV, THE CORPS OF SIGNALS

ARMY

22. MAJOR GIRISH SHARMA, CORPS OF THE ELECTRONICS AND

MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

ARMY

23. MAJOR ARVIND B NAIR, CORPS OF ELECTRONICS AND

MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

ARMY

24. MAJOR ISHAN DHIMAN, 21ST BATTALION THE SIKH

REGIMENT

ARMY







25. CAPTAIN SAGAR PRAKASH PARDESHI, THE ARMOURED

CORPS

ARMY

26. CAPTAIN SHASHANK SHARMA, THE MADRAS REGIMENT

ARMY

27. CAPTAIN KRISHNAKUMAR K, THE CORPS OF SIGNALS

ARMY

28. CAPTAIN UDIT MOHAN RAJ, CORPS OF SIGNALS

ARMY

29. LIEUTENANT NAVIN KUMAR, THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT

(SPECIAL FORCES)

ARMY

30. SUBEDAR KARAN SINGH, THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT

ARMY

31. NAIB SUBEDAR BIPIN SINGH, 9TH BATTALION THE PARACHUTE

REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES)

ARMY

32. HAVILDAR RAMVIR SINGH, THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT

ARMY

33. HAVILDAR SHIV KUMAR, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

34. HAVILDAR RAM LAL, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

35. HAVILDAR SANDEEP KUMAR, FIRST BATTALION THE

PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES)

ARMY

36. HAVILDAR RAKESH KUMAR, 9TH BATTALION THE PARACHUTE


ARMY

37. ACTING LANCE DAFADAR HANS RAJ, ARMOURED CORPS

ARMY

38. NAIK SATNAM SINGH, THE PUNJAB REGIMENT

ARMY

39. NAIK JAGJIT SINGH, THE PUNJAB REGIMENT

ARMY

40. NAIK RAKESH KUMAR CHOTIA, 11TH BATTALION THE

GRENADIERS REGIMENT (POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

41. NAIK SANJAY SINGH, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

42. NAIK GULVIR SINGH, THE JAT REGIMENT

ARMY

43. NAIK JAGATINDER SINGH, 10TH BATTALION THE SIKH

REGIMENT

ARMY

44. NAIK BAKSHI RAM SINGH, THE SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY

ARMY

45. NAIK MUDASIR AHMAD, 15TH BATTALION THE JAMMU

AND KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY (POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

46. NAIK ZAHIR ABAS, 9TH BATTALION THE PARACHUTE


ARMY

47. NAIK NAZIR AHMAD BHAT, ARMY

162ND INFANTRY BATTALION TERRITORIAL ARMY (JAMMU AND

KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY) 48. NAIK SURJEET SINGH,

9TH BATTALION THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT (SPECIAL FORCES)

ARMY

49. NAIK DEVI SINGH, 4TH BATTALION THE PARACHUTE


ARMY

50. NAIK DHARAM PAL, THE JAMMU & KASHMIR RIFLES

ARMY

51. NAIK KULWANT SINGH, THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

ARMY

52. NAIK SHREEKANT KARI, CORPS OF ENGINEERS

ARMY

53. NAIK JAGIRA RAM THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS

ARMY

54. NAIK LOURDHU RAJU REDDY MOSU, BRIGADE OF THE GUARDS

ARMY

55. NAIK KRASHAN SINGH RAJPUT, 16TH BATTALION THE RAJPUTANA

RIFLES

ARMY

56. LANCE NAIK AJAY KUMAR, THE PUNJAB REGIMENT

ARMY

57. LANCE NAIK PARTAP SINGH, 6TH BATTALION THE JAT

REGIMENT

ARMY

58. LANCE NAIK SANJAY YADAV, 9TH BATTALION THE PARACHUTE


ARMY

59. LANCE NAIK JAVAID AHMAD BHAT,

JAMMU & KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY

ARMY

60. LANCE NAIK GOPAL SINGH, 1ST BATTALION THE PARACHUTE


ARMY

61. LANCE NAIK DINESH KUMAR, THE MECHANISED INFANTRY

ARMY

62. LANCE NAIK NEELESH SINGH, THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

(POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

63. LANCE NAIK KAINATO K ACHUMI, BRIGADE OF THE GUARDS /

21ST BATTALION THE RASHTRIYA RIFLES

ARMY

64. LANCE NAIK JATINDER SINGH, THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS

ARMY

65. SEPOY BHUSARE SHIVAJI GANGADHAR,

15TH BATTALION THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY

ARMY

66. SEPOY RAVI BHUSAN SHAHI, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

67. SEPOY VIJAY SINGH GURJAR, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

68. SEPOY SURENDRA KUMAR, THE ARMY







RAJPUT REGIMENT 69. SEPOY DINESH KUMAR, THE

RAJPUT REGIMENT ARMY

70. SEPOY BHANU PRATAP SINGH TOMAR, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

71. SEPOY HARIOM SINGH PUNDIR, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

72. SEPOY ABDUL AZIZ KHAN, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

73. SEPOY HET RAM GODARA, THE JAT REGIMENT (POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

74. SEPOY JEEWAN KUMAR, THE DOGRA REGIMENT

ARMY

75. SEPOY LALIT CHAND, THE KUMAON REGIMENT

ARMY

76. SEPOY SACHIN KUMAR, THE KUMAON REGIMENT

ARMY

77. SEPOY MAHESH SINGH, THE KUMAON REGIMENT

ARMY

78. SEPOY LAL BABU YADAV, THE BIHAR REGIMENT

ARMY

79. SEPOY SP SOMI, THE ASSAM REGIMENT

ARMY

80. SEPOY MUKESH SINGH, THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

ARMY

81. SEPOY BANSODE JIVAN UTTAM, REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

ARMY

82. SEPOY MANJINDER SINGH OF 10TH BATTALION THE SIKH REGIMENT(POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

83. RIFLEMAN KRISHNA CHANDRA JAKHMOLA,

10TH BATTALION THE GARHWAL RIFLES

ARMY

84. RIFLEMAN SACHIN KUMAR, THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES

ARMY

85. PARATROOPER MANAS TUNG, 4TH BATTALION THE PARACHUTE


ARMY

86. GUNNER RANJEET KUMAR, 76TH FIELD REGIMENT

ARMY

87. GUNNER ARVINDER KUMAR, THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

(POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

88. SOWAR RAJESH KUMAR, THE ARMOURED CORPS

ARMY

89. SOWAR RAHUL SINGH BHADOURIA, THE ARMOURED

CORPS

ARMY

90. SOWAR SANJAY PASWAN, THE ARMOURED CORPS

ARMY

91. SIGNALMAN KUSHWAH PRADISINGH BRIJKISHORSINGH,

THE CORPS OF SIGNALS (POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

92. SAPPER PAVAN BS, THE RAJPUT REGIMENT

ARMY

93. SEPOY PARGAT SINGH, 2ND BATTALION THE SIKH

REGIMENT (POSTHUMOUS)

ARMY

NAO SENA MEDAL(GALLANTRY) 26. LT CDR ANIL RAINA NAVY 27. LT CDR VARTIKA JOSHI NAVY 28. LT CDR KUNAL SAINI NAVY 29. DEEPAK SAINI, POA(FD), NAVY 30. SUMIT RAJ, POA (FD) NAVY 31. VIJAY KUMAR VERMA, LA (FD), NAVY 32. LT CDR PRATIBHA JAMWAL NAVY 33. LT PATARPALLI SWATHI NAVY 34. LT S VIJAYA DEVI NAVY 35. LT AISHWARYA BODAPATTI NAVY 36. LT PAYAL GUPTA NAVY

VAYU SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY) 37. WING COMMANDER ABHISHEK

SHARMA FLYING (PILOT) AIR

FORCE 38. SQUADRON LEADER VERNON

DESMOND KEANE FLYING PILOT AIR

FORCE 39. 902943-H SERGEANT

SHASHIDHAR P PRASAD INDIAN AIR FORCE (GARUD)

AIR FORCE

All India Football Federation Awards 2017 Announced:

Complete List of Winners The All India Football Federation (AIFF), the governing

body of football in India named India and Bengaluru FC Captain Sunil Chhetri as the AIFF Player of the Year in the Federation's Executive Committee Meeting in Mumbai.

The meeting was chaired by AIFF President Praful Patel. The All India Football Federation has announced several other awards as well in the Meeting.

Kamala Devi bagged the 2017 AIFF Woman Player of the Year.

The complete list of 2017 AIFF Award Winners: Award For Winner

1. Player of the Year Sunil Chhetri 2. Woman Player of the Year Kamala Devi







3. Best Grassroots Development Programme

Kerala FA

4. long-time contribution to Indian Football

Hero Motocorp

5. Best Referee CR Srikrishna 6. Best Assistant Referee Sumanta Datta 7. Emerging Player of the

Year Anirudh Thapa

8. Emerging Woman Footballer of the Year

E Panthoi

All about the Vietnam Badminton Open 2018

The 2018 Vietnam Open officially known as YONEX-SUNRISE Vietnam Open 2018, was held at Nguyen Du Cultural Sports Club in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The tournament was organized by Hochiminh City Badminton Association.

The complete List of Winners of 2018 Vietnam Open: Event Winner Runner-up

1. Men’s Singles

Shesar Hiren Rhustavito (Indonesia)

Ajay Jayaram (India)

2. Women’s Singles

Yeo Jia Min (Singapore)

Han Yue (China)

3. Men’s Doubles

Ko Sung-hyun, Shin Baek-cheol (South

Korea)

Lee Sheng-mu, Yang Po-hsuan

(Chinese Taipei) 4. Women’s

Doubles Misato Aratama, Akane Watanabe

(Japan)

Nami Matsuyama,

Japan Chiharu Shida (Japan)

5. Mixed Doubles

Nipitphon Phuangphuapet,

Savitree Amitrapai (Thailand)

Alfian Eko Prasetya,

Marsheilla Gischa Islami (Indonesia)

World Badminton Championships 2018 Concluded

The 2018 BWF World Championships is a badminton tournament which was held at Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park Arena in Nanjing, China.

Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu won the silver medal in a major tournament final as she went down tamely to Carolina Marin in the World Championships’ women’s singles title.

In men’s singles, Kento Momota of Japan won the title over Shi Yuqi. With this victory, Kento Momota became the first Japanese man to win the Championships.

The second silver meant Sindhu is the only Indian to have four world championships podium finishes. She had won two bronze medals at the 2013 Guangzhou and 2014 Copenhagen editions.

Marin became the first woman shuttler to win the world championships thrice. She had won the title in 2014 and the 2015 Jakarta edition.

The complete list of the winners of World Badminton Championship 2018:

S.No. Event Winner Runner-up

1. Men's Singles

Kento Momota (Japan)

Shi Yuqi (China)

2. Women's Singles

Carolina Marin (Spain)

P. V. Sindhu (India)

3. Men's Doubles

Li Junhui (China) and Liu Yuchen

(China)

Takeshi Kamura (Japan) and Keigo

Sonoda (Japan) 4. Women's

Doubles Mayu Matsumoto

(Japan) and Wakana Nagahara

(Japan)

Yuki Fukushima (Japan) and

Sayaka Hirota (Japan)

5. Mixed Doubles

Zheng Siwei (China) and Huang

Yaqiong (China)

Wang Yilü (China) and

Huang Dongping (China)

Banking Current Affairs

RBI released its annual report in Mumbai. It was mentioned in the report that due to the evolving economic conditions, real GDP growth for 2018-19 is expected to increase to 7.4% from 6.7% in the previous year.

DBS Bank has been named the world's best bank by Global Finance magazine, in a reflection of its ability to invest in digital innovation while still maintaining stable operations for its customers.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) announced that the Department of Financial Services report has rated it as number one state-owned bank in terms of digital transactions.

India Banking Conclave 2018 was held in New Delhi. It was organized by Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). It focused on reforming the banking sector.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has launched an overdraft (OD) facility for micro and small enterprise (MSE) customers across its branches nationally. The facility is an add-on product to the existing MSE term loans offered by the bank. The OD facility is offered to all MSEs with a turnover of Rs 50 lakh or more, at a competitive rate of interest.

NABARD All India Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS), conducted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), was released by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog in New Delhi. The report revealed that farm households register higher income than the families solely dependent on non-farm livelihood activities in rural areas. It highlighted that the average annual income of an agricultural household is Rs 1,07,172 compared to Rs 87,228 for families engaged only in non-agricultural activities.

Mauritius-based SBM Group received RBI’s approval to operate in the country through a wholly-owned subsidiary route.







National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signed an MoU with the State Bank of India (SBI) for getting Long Term Unsecured Loan of Rs 25000 crore for 10 years with 3 years of moratorium on repayments. This is the SBI’s highest long-term unsecured loan to any entity.

Bharti Axa Life Insurance and Airtel Payments Bank entered into an alliance to offer the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana’ (PMJJBY), a government-backed life insurance scheme. With this, Airtel Payments Bank also becomes the first payments bank in India to offer the Government of India-backed life insurance scheme. The product (PMJJBY) provided by Bharti Axa Life Insurance offers Rs 2 lakh life insurance cover for a nominal premium of Rs 330 per annum.

The value of transactions made through mobile wallets touched a record Rs14,632 crore in June, as per RBI data.

Axis bank has become the first bank in the country to introduce Iris Scan Authentication feature for Aadhaar -based transactions through its micro ATM tablets.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance entered into a bancassurance deal with Vijaya Bank. This corporate agency agreement will enable distribution of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance products through the bank’s network of 2,129 branches across the country.

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has launched a new digital platform 'MyDeal' to simplify capital raising process through capital markets by providing real-time access to information such as investors' feedback, profiles, client orders and deal pricing.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will transfer Rs50,000 crore of its surplus money to the government, the highest since 2015-16, in a partial relief for the latter struggling to replenish public sector banks.

PayPal, a digital payments platform has announced its strategic partnership with and HDFC Bank to offer safer, faster and convenient payment experiences for the bank's cardholders.

Exim Bank of India has signed a multilateral cooperation agreement with member development banks of BRICS to undertake “collaborative research” in distributed ledger/blockchain technology.

Economy Current Affairs

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $346 million loan to finance improvement of over 400 kilometres of state highways that will enhance connectivity and access to economic centers across 12 districts in Karnataka.

The government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $375 million loan agreement to contribute to double farming incomes in Madhya Pradesh by expanding irrigation networks and system efficiency.

Central government and the World Bank signed 300 million dollar loan agreements for India Energy Efficiency Scale up Programme. They signed 220 million dollar Loan Agreement and an 80 million Guarantee Agreement for

the Efficiency Scale-Up Program. It is to be implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).

As per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion data, Foreign Direct Investment, FDI in India rose 23% to 12.8 billion dollars during the April to June quarter of this fiscal.

Business Current Affairs

Idea Cellular Ltd has announced that it has completed its merger with Vodafone India Ltd (VIL) and Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd (VMSL) after getting approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Prasar Bharati and Mizzima Media Group of Myanmar signed an MoU to realize cooperation and collaboration in broadcasting and content sharing.

The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became the first Indian company to cross Rs 8 trillion market capitalization after its shares surged nearly 37% in 2018.

The Receivables Exchange of India (RXIL) announced that Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has become the first public sector enterprise to make a transaction on the "TReDS platform". TReDS is an online electronic institutional mechanism for facilitating the financing of trade receivables of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) through multiple financiers.

Google announced Project Navlekha at its 4th edition of Google for India Event held in New Delhi. Project Navlekha has been launched to enable Indian publishers of regional languages to publish their content online, without facing the trouble of selling printed copies.

Alphabet Inc’s Google partnered with four Indian banks to grant consumer loans online, as the fight for a $1 trillion digital finance market intensifies. The U.S. search giant has teamed with HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and Federal Bank Ltd. to offer instant, pre-approved loans to customers. California-based company re-branded its made-in-India Tez app as 'Google Pay' -- the catch-all label for its payments services.

Reliance Power announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Power Netherlands BV has won an international arbitration award of $56 million (Rs 390 crore) against Prestige Capital Holdings (a Seychelles-based company) and Kokos Jiang.

Apple Inc. became the first US-based company with a market value of $1 trillion, four decades after it was co-founded by Steve Jobs in a Silicon Valley garage.

Google's latest Android operating system update, Android 9 Pie, was officially released to customers following a beta testing period that started earlier this year.

PayU India announced entering into a strategic partnership with Reliance Money, leading NBFC brands in India, to offer instant app-based personal loans, via LazyPay. It is an attempt to reach out to the underserved consumers in India.

Google launched a new video-based Q&A app called 'Cameos' on the App Store, which allows people to answer







questions about themselves, then share those answers directly on Google.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) launched BSNL WINGS a VOIP based service. In WINGS, there is no SIM or cable wiring as is a VOIP service through an app. The WINGS service offers unlimited free audio/video calling for one year.

PhonePe announced entering into a partnership with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to facilitate convenient, fast and secure payments through PhonePe on the IRCTC Rail connect Android app.

Digital payments firm Paytm has partnered with China's Alibaba to launch AI-based cloud computing platform 'Paytm AI Cloud'.

Schemes/ Portals/ Missions/ Apps/ Missions Launched

by the Union & State Govt. With an aim to provide country’s poor access to quality

and affordable healthcare, government announced the launch of Ayushman Bharat (now Jan Aarogya Abhiyan) on September 25, covering 50 crore people. Nearly 10 crore families will get health cover worth Rs 5 lakh each year under the scheme. The world’s largest healthcare cover plan that covers 10 crore families provides 5 lakh cover to them each year.

To promote a culture of innovation and research in higher education, HRD ministry launched the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARRIA). Named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the ARRIA "will rank educational institutions for innovation output based on all major indicators and parameters used globally".

CCEA chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for implementation of an umbrella scheme ‘Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-SMART)’. It approved the scheme for implementation during the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20 at an overall cost of Rs 1623 crore. The scheme covers a total of 16 sub-projects, which address ocean development activities such as services, technology, resources, observations and science.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Electoral Transformation (NETA) mobile application to rate Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). 'Neta - Leaders' Report Card' App, the brainchild of 27-year-old entrepreneur Pratham Mittal.

The Centre unveiled a draft scheme for extending the affordable air travel programme UDAN to international circuits, with state governments identifying the routes for operation. The draft International Air Connectivity (IAC) scheme envisages to increase the international ticketing to 20 crores by 2027. As per the draft scheme, state governments will identify the routes to be connected, and airline operators will assess demand on the identified routes and submit proposals for providing connectivity.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan handed over 5 croreth LPG connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) to Smt Takrdiran of Delhi. The 5-crore feat achieved in the time period of over 2 years. In the current year, considering the huge success of the Scheme, target was revised to 8 crores with budgetary allocation of Rs 12,800 crore. Uttar Pradesh got the maximum number of LPG connections.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) launched a dedicated portal to connect cargo owners and shippers with real-time data on the availability of vessels. It is named as the Forum of Cargo Owners and Logistics Operators (FOCAL).

NITI Aayog launched Move Hack, a global mobility hackathon to crowdsource solutions aimed at the future of mobility in India.

Govt. approved 122 new research projects of 112 crore rupees under its Impacting Research Innovation and Technology ‘IMPRINT-2’ scheme. It aims to advance research in energy, security and healthcare domains in the high education institutions.

Startup India launched the Startup Academia Alliance programme, which is a unique mentorship opportunity between academic scholars and startups working in similar domains, to fulfill the Indian Government’s mission to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country.

Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari launched Bidder Information Management System (BIMS) and Bhoomi Rashi and PFMS linkage - two IT initiatives of the Road Transport & Highways Ministry.

Recognizing the importance of reaching out to the consumers and to safeguard their interests, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has now integrated its Mobile Apps namely DND 2.0 & MyCall with UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) Platform. UMANG is developed by National e-Governance Division (NeGD).

Ministry of HRD has embarked on a major and new initiative Project called 'Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM), which will provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses.







This covers all higher education subjects and skill sector courses.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Aviation Suresh Prabhu launched 'Niryat Mitra' – mobile App in New Delhi. It developed by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the ‘One District One Product’ Summit in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The special emphasis was laid on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Under the ‘One District One Product’ scheme, the state government has set a goal of providing employment to 25 lakh people in five years through the financial assistance of Rs. 25,000 crores.

National Current Affairs

In a tribute to the late former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Chhattisgarh Cabinet approved the proposal to rename Naya Raipur as 'Atal Nagar'. Chief Minister Raman Singh made the announcement after a Cabinet meeting. The Bilaspur University will be known as Atal Bihari Vajpayee University while the Narrow-Gauge Line will be called Atal Path.

India and Singapore signed the Second Protocol amending the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in New Delhi which will boost bilateral trade between the two countries.

India and Germany signed an agreement on financial and technical cooperation focusing on sustainable urban development and renewable energy.

AIBD India elected as the President of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) for a period of two years. India got elected against Iran. Director General of All India Radio F. Sheheryar re-elected as chair of the executive board while Sri Lanka was elected as vice-chair.

Union Government unlocked green funds worth over Rs. 66,000 crores to increase the country’s forest cover.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has rolled out the Smart City projects that will help New Delhi emerge as a world-class city. The projects are undertaken by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank (NWGRB) was inaugurated at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s (CCMB) Laboratory of Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) facility in Hyderabad, Telangana. It is India’s first genetic resource bank where the genetic material will be stored for posterity.

The Government of India has released 470 million Nepali rupees grant for Terai roads project in Nepal. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over a cheque of grant.

The Supreme Court ruled that the ‘None of The Above’ (NOTA) option will not be applicable for voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. The ruling was made by a bench of Justices comprising CJI Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.

States Current Affairs The Union Government, Rajasthan and the World Bank

signed a USD 250 million Development Policy Loan (DPL) to support Rajasthan in improving the performance of its Electricity Distribution Sector under the State’s ‘24x7 Power for All’ program.

Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari signed an MoU with six states for the construction of Lakhwar multi-purpose project in the upper Yamuna basin to deal with water crisis. CMs of Uttar Pradesh (Yogi Adityanath), Rajasthan (Vasundhara Raje Scindia), Uttarakhand (Trivendra Singh Rawat), Himachal Pradesh (Jai Ram Thakur), Haryana (Manohar Lal Khattar) and Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal) signed the MoU. Under this, the 204-metres high project will be constructed near Uttarakhand's Lohari village with live storage capacity of 330.66 million cubic metres (MCM).

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami laid the foundation stone for setting up of a Special Investment Region (SIR) in northern Krishnagiri district to attract investments. It would be jointly developed by GMR Infrastructures Limited & Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (TIDCO).

The analysis titled The Urban Commute was released. It is analysed by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), to check how some cities, which hold sizeable shares of India’s urban population are positioned in the race for clean and low carbon mobility. Bhopal tops for lowest overall emissions and energy use from urban commute.

In a big step forward to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Rajasthan, the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched India’s largest business incubator the Bhamashah Techno Hub in Jaipur.

Rajasthan become the first State in the country to implement the national policy on biofuels unveiled by the Centre this year.

The iconic Mughalsarai Railway Junction in Uttar Pradesh renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction Railway station. BJP National President Amit Shah inaugurated the renamed station.

The world's first-ever thermal battery plant was unveiled in Andhra Pradesh by the state’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. It is manufactured by the Bharat Energy Storage Technology Private Limited (BEST).

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar flagged off the Goa Tourism Development Corporation’s app-based taxi service called ‘GOAMILES’ in Panaji.

Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad released the document ‘Digital North East Vision 2022’ in Guwahati, Assam. It emphasizes leveraging digital technologies to transform the lives of people of the northeast and enhance the ease of living.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh announced that Chhattisgarh is the first among the 28 other states in the country to provide Right to Skills’ Development to the youth.







Delhi Police inducted an all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, consisting of 36 commandos – the first ever by any police force in India – for anti-terrorist operations.

PM Modi inaugurated various projects in Junagadh district of Gujarat. These included the Government Civil Hospital, a milk processing plant and some buildings of the Junagadh Agriculture University.

New Appointments (National & International)

Balesh Sharma takes over as Vodafone Idea's first CEO. He was the Chief Operating Officer of Vodafone India and a member of its executive committee.

Veteran Indian development economist Satya S Tripathi has been appointed as the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by UN Chief Antonio Guterres. He will replace Elliott Harris.

The Centre appointed renowned scientist, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, as Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Secretary in Department of Defence Research & Development (DDR&D).

Industry chamber Assocham appointed former bureaucrat Uday Kumar Varma as its new Secretary General. He succeeds DS Rawat who held the position for nearly 14 years.

Union Minister Arun Jaitley is back as the Finance Minister after a three-month interval to recuperate from a kidney transplant surgery.

Film actor Shri Akshay Kumar appointed as the Road Safety Brand Ambassador.

IAS officer K S Srinivas has taken over as Chairman of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been re-elected for a five-year term after winning a landslide in a runoff ballot.

Colorado Party’s Mario Abdo Benitez was sworn in as the new President of Paraguay for a five-year term.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan took oath as Pakistan's new prime minister.

Infosys Chief Financial Officer MD Ranganath, a veteran of nearly two decades at India’s second-largest software services company, has abruptly stepped down from his position.

Subhash Sheoratan Mundra has been appointed as Independent Director on the Board of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IBHFL) for a period of three years. He was former Deputy Governor of RBI.

Supreme Court will have three serving women judges for the first time, after the Centre cleared the elevation of Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee. The other two judges are R Banumathi, appointed in August 2014, and Indu Malhotra, appointed in April 2018.

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi will step down in October after serving for 12 years as the top boss at the global beverage

giant, PepsiCo. She will be succeeded by company President Ramon Laguarta.

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly won the country’s landmark election in Zimbabwe. He is a former ally of Robert Mugabe.

Farm and construction equipment maker Escorts appointed Nikhil Nanda as the chairman and managing director (MD) of the company.

The nominating committee of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has selected Ajay Data, Founder & CEO of Data XGen Plus and a global leader in email linguistic services, as a new council member of Country Code Supporting Organisation (ccNSO).

Public sector non-life insurance firm United India Insurance Company announced the appointment of S Gopakumar as its Director and General Manager with immediate effect.

Justice Rajendra Menon was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court by Lt Governor Anil Baijal at a ceremony held at the Raj Niwas in New Delhi.

NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh was elected the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman with 125 votes. The Opposition candidate BK Hariprasad managed to get 105 votes.

Ivan Duque was sworn in as the newly elected President of Colombia. He pledged to unite the country and improve economic growth.

United Nations announced that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has chosen former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to be the UN’s new human rights chief.

Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur took Oath as Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, Ministry of Power.

Asian Games 2018 Winners

Bajrang Punia opened India’s gold medal account by defeating Japan’s Daichi Takatani in the final of Men’s Freestyle 65 kg. category.

16-Year-Old Saurabh Chaudhary became only the fifth Indian shooter to claim a gold in the Asian Games history, beating a field of multiple world and Olympic champions in the 10m air pistol finals in Indonesia.

India got its Gold medal at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia when Vinesh Phogat defeated Japan’s Yuki Irie in the final of freestyle 50 kg category in Women’s Wrestling. With this victory, Vinesh created history as she is the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in the Asian Games.

Shooter Rahi Sarnobat won the women's 25m Pistol event at Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia. With this, she becomes the first ever Indian female shooter to win gold in the history of Asian Games.

India won gold in the women's 4X400 metre event. The Indian quartet of Hima Das, Raju Poovamma, Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad and Vismaya Koroth registered a time of 3 minutes and 28.72 seconds to finish at the top.







India’s Jinson Johnson claimed the gold medal in the men’s 1500m event in the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Arpinder Singh ended India's 48-year long wait for a gold in triple jump at the Asian Games with an effort of 16.77m.

Swapna Barman created history by becoming the first Indian heptathlete to win an Asian Games gold in Indonesia, a feat she achieved despite a toothache.

India's 28-year-old sprinter Manjit Singh won the gold medal in the men's 800m event at the 2018 Asian Games, securing the ninth gold for the country. Indian sprinter Jinson Johnson, who is ranked first in Asia, won the silver at the event.

Neeraj Chopra became the first-ever Indian javelin thrower to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. Neeraj had also become the first Indian to bag gold in the javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.

World number three PV Sindhu lost to world number one Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan) in the women's singles final to bag India's first-ever silver medal in badminton at Asian Games.

India's Tejinder Pal Singh Toor wins the Gold medal in Men's Shot Put final at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.

18-year-old Hima Das won the Silver medal in 400-meter race in ongoing Asian Games 2018, Indonesia. Dutee Chand also bagged silver medal in women's 100 meter race.

Indian rowers Sawarn Singh, Dattu Bhokanal, Om Prakash and Sukhmeet Singh won the men's Quadruple Sculls to win India's fifth gold medal at the Asian Games 2018.

Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan notched up their maiden men’s tennis doubles gold medal at the Asian Games, in Palembang, Indonesia. Bopanna and Sharan defeated Aleksander Bublik and Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan.

Note: The Host cities for Asian Games 2018 are Jakarta and

Palembang, Indonesia. Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung are the mascots of the 2018

Asian Games.

Sports Current Affairs The 2019 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting

Championships will be held in the North Korean capital Pyongyang, a signal that the secretive country may be coming in from the sporting cold.

The U-20 Japan Women's National Team won against the U-20 Spain Women's National Team at the final of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018, taking down the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup title for the first time in Japanese football history. Takarada Saori was named as the Player of the match.

Union Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh, unveiled the corporate sports policy for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Ministry of Steel. The policy will provide a framework for promotion of sports by Steel Ministry CPSEs.

Indian women’s team fast bowler Jhulan Goswami announced her retirement from T20 Cricket Internationals.

Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Roger Federer (Switzerland) in straight sets, high-profile championship match at the 2018 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Teen cyclist Esow Alben has created history by claiming India’s first ever medal – a silver- at the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland.

This year's Asian Games, also known as Jakarta Palembang 2018, has started from 18th August to 02nd September in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. It is the second time when Jakarta is hosting the sports games after 1962. A total of 572 Indian athletes will be participating in the event in 36 different sports categories. The contingent will be led by Chef de Mission Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson announced the retirement from all forms of cricket almost three years after he stepped down from the international game.

Dustin Johnson won the 2018 RBC Canadian Open at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville in Canada.

Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in the Savo Games in Lapinlahti, Finland. Neeraj Chopra made a throw of 85.69 metres and won the gold medal.

India defeated Bangladesh in the final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 Women’s Championship in Thimpu, Bhutan. A solitary second-half strike by Sunita Munda helped the Indian U-15 team clinch the title.

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the Hungarian Grand Prix for the 6th time, at the Hungaroring circuit, in Hungary.

World Junior Squash Championships 2018 held in Chennai, India. A total of 171 players including 116 men and 55 women from 28 countries took part in the World Junior Squash Championship. Egypt defeated England & emerged as the 2018 World Junior Squash Champions. India finished in 11th position.

Indian Golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar grabbed his maiden European Tour title at the Fiji International in Natadola Bay. It was Bhullar’s first win on the European Tour, ninth Asian Tour title and 10th crown overall.

In Women’s Hockey World Cup 2018, the Netherlands has been crowned the world champions for a record eighth time. The defending champions recorded a stunning 6-0 victory over Ireland in the summit clash at London, UK. India finished the tournament at the 8th spot.

2018 BWF World Championships badminton tournament held at Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park Arena in Nanjing, China. Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu won the silver medal as she went down tamely to Carolina Marin in the World Championships’ women’s singles title.

Indian women chess team at the Asian Nations Cup 2018 clinched the gold in the Blitz event held in Iran. While India (1st) finished with 21.5 points, Vietnam (2nd)







settled for silver with 18.5 and China (3rd) bagged bronze with 17.5.

Veteran German striker Mario Gomez announced his retirement from international football. The 33-year-old, who made his debut for Germany in 2007, scored 31 goals in 78 international appearances.

India’s under-20 team won over Argentina under-20 in the final group stage match of the COTIF Cup held in Valencia’s Els Arcs Stadium. India was playing in the tournament for the first time.

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be the flag bearer for the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2018.

Australian professional golfer Jarrod Lyle has died after a long battle with cancer, aged 36.

17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal clinched his fourth Canadian Masters 1000 title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He defeated Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Indian golfer Viraj Madappa became the youngest Indian to win on the Asian Tour, as he won his first title on the Asian Tour at Take Solutions Masters in Bengaluru.

International Master Nihal Sarin became the 53rd Grandmaster of India despite losing his final round game to Richard Rapport of Hungary in the ninth and final round of Abu Dhabi Masters.

International Current Affairs

4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The main focus was on countering terrorism, enhancing regional connectivity and boosting trade. The theme was 'Towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region'.

The First South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agri Cooperative Business Forum held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The theme was ‘Organizing and Strengthening Family Farmers’ Cooperatives to attain the Sustainable- Development-Goals-1 and 2 in South Asia’.

The G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting was held in Salta, Argentina. It took place as part of Sherpa Track for 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit, which is to be hosted by

Argentina by end of 2018. The theme was 'Building consensus for fair and sustainable development'.

In Sri Lanka, the fourth Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF-IV) begins in Colombo to discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. It is being held for the first time in South Asia with support from the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the Asian network for free elections (ANFREL). The theme was, ‘Advancing Election Transparency and Integrity: Promoting and Defending Democracy Together’.

The 8th meeting of India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee was held in Nairobi, Kenya.

The World Bank launched ‘bond-i', the world’s first bond to be created, allocated, transferred and managed by using distributed ledger technology. This two-year bond successfully raised 110 million Australian dollars (USD 80.48 million).

Treasurer Scott Morrison has been elected the new Prime Minister of Australia after winning an internal vote of 45-40 against former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. He will take over the charge as PM from Malcolm Turnbull.

Iran unveiled its first domestic fighter jet named 'KOWSAR' with President Hassan Rouhani.

France’s Parliament signed into law a controversial asylum and immigration bill. The bill is designed to accelerate asylum procedures by cutting the maximum processing time from the current 120 days to 90 days after entering France.

United States Congress passed the National Defense Authorisation Act-2019 (NDAA-19) which capped its security-related aid to Pakistan to $150 million, significantly below the historic level of more than $ 1 billion to $750 million per year.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated 'Panini Language Laboratory' at Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) at Port Louis in Mauritius. She called on Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jagnauth and discussed further deepening of the special ties between the two nations.

In Sri Lanka, the ten-day festival of the historic Esala Maha Perehera began in Kandy with a grand procession. The procession set off from the biggest Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka, Sri Dalada Maligawa at an auspicious time.

Japan pipped China as the world's number two stock market, as per Bloomberg report. Both markets are ranked after the US which is the world's largest at just over $31 trillion.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong chaired the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting in Singapore.

UK government announced new plans to change the law for organ and tissue donation to address the urgent need for organs within the Indian-origin communities in the country.

Saudi Arabia announced that it is freezing all new trade and investment with Canada over its interference in its internal affairs.







Israel opened a Visa Application Centre in Kolkata for tourists from West Bengal and the northeastern states to encourage more Indian travelers to visit that country.

Nepal-India Literature Festival 2018 held in Birgunj, Nepal. It was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Province 2 Mohammad Lalbabu Raut. The festival is aimed at strengthening Indo-Nepal ties.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh urged to Jose Graziano da Silva, the Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) to declare the upcoming year as the ‘International Year of Millets’.

The 24th World Congress of Philosophy (WCP) was held in Beijing, China. It was organized by the International Federation of Philosophical Societies, and Peking University. Its theme was “Learning To Be Human”.

US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo announced the formation of the Iran Action Group (IAG) to coordinate and run the country's policy towards Iran. Pompeo has named Brian Hook, the State Department's director of policy planning, as the group’s head.

Qatar King Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged to make direct investment in Turkey and announced a 15-billion US dollar investment into the country’s financial markets and banks.

Defence Current Affairs

INS Sahyadri entered the Port of Darwin, Australia to participate in Exercise KAKADU 2018. Exercise KAKADU, which started in 1993, is the premier multilateral regional maritime engagement exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is held biennially in Darwin and the Northern Australian Exercise Areas (NAXA).

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman accorded approval for procurement for the Services amounting to approximately Rs. 46,000 crores. The DAC in a landmark decision approved procurement of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs. 21,000 crores.

For the first time, India's only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will be fitted with a marine hydraulic system to boost the air operations of the ship. Technodinamika, a subsidiary of Russia's Rostec State Corporation, will install the system in the Indian Navy ship by May 2019.

Exercise Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2018, the latest in 'Peace Mission' series formally started at Chebarkul, Russia. All the 8 member nations will participate in this exercise.

The NDRF has the biggest ever relief and rescue operation in flood-affected Kerala. A total of 58 teams have been deputed to work in the state out of which 55 are working on the ground. This is the highest ever deployment of NDRF in a single state since its raising in 2006. After the review, PM Modi announced a financial

assistance of Rs 500 crore to the State. This is in addition to Rs. 100 Cr. announced by the Home Minister.

India successfully flight tested the indigenously developed helicopter launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile ‘HELINA’ from Pokhran in Rajasthan. The weapon system tested for its full range was released smoothly from the launch platform. The missile hit the target with high precision.

The Indian and Thailand's armed forces concluded a two-week long platoon level military exercise called ‘Exercise Maitree 2018’ in Jammu & Kashmir’s Srinagar. The exercise was an annual event designed to strengthen the partnership between armies of the two countries.

The first-ever joint air exercise involving the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) commenced at Subang Air Base in Malaysia.

DRDO conducted the successful test of the Ballistic Missile Interceptor Advanced Area Defence (AAD) from Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. The endo-atmospheric missile, capable of intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 kms was launched against multiple simulated targets of 1500 km class ballistic missile.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the Defence India Startup Challenge in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Raksha Mantri also launched SPARK (support for prototype and research Kickstart) in defence, framework for IDEX partners, and promotion of start-ups under Make II procedure.

Exercise 'Maitree' is a joint military exercise between the Indian Army and Royal Thai Army which is running on in Thailand. It is a platoon level exercise which comprises of infantry component.

Pacific Endeavor-2018, a communication exercise under the Multinational Communications Interoperability Program (MCIP) started in Kathmandu, Nepal. The basic objective is to develop common communications operating procedures to enable military forces in the Asia Pacific region to collectively work in the wake of disaster.

As part of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) initiatives, SCO Peace Mission Exercise is conducted biennially for SCO member states. The joint exercise for the year 2018 will be conducted by Central Military Commission of Russia at Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a defence industrial corridor in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The move is part of the government’s efforts to develop specialised zones dedicated to defence production in the state.

Ranks/ Indexes Released

Serena Williams (with earnings of $18.1 million) was the highest paid female athlete for a third consecutive year in 2018, according to "List Of Highest Paid Female Athletes 2018" published by Forbes. The Top 3 Highest Paid Female Athletes On The List Are: 1. Serena Williams ($18.1 million), 2. Dane Caroline Wozniacki ($13 million), 3. Sloane Stephens ($11.2 million).







The Indian economy is expected to grow by around 7.5% in 2018 and 2019 as it is largely resilient to external pressures like those from higher oil prices, according to Moody's Investors Service Global Macro Outlook for 2018-19. Moody's put G-20 growth at 3.3% in 2018 and 3.1% in 2019.

NITI Aayog released five thematic reports on Sustainable Development in Indian Himalayan Region. It was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant and member Dr V K Saraswat in New Delhi. As per the Reports, Himalayan Tourism, growing annually at 6.8% has created a huge challenge related to solid waste, water, traffic, loss of bio-cultural diversity.

Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan have made it to the Forbes’ list of World’s Highest-Paid Actors 2018, which was topped by George Clooney. Akshay and Salman made it to spot seven and nine, respectively.

The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has emerged as the second fastest growing airport in the world in the first half of 2018 in terms of actual growth in the number of passengers. It has recorded 1,58,50,352 flyers during the six-month period. Only Tokyo's Haneda International has bettered KIA's growth. The report was published by RoutesOnline.

India jumped 22 places to 96th rank to break into the top 100 of the United Nation’s E-Government Development Index (EGDI) 2018. Denmark topped the 2018 E-Government Development Survey.

Seven Indian companies listed in Fortune’s 500 list 2018 of World Biggest corporations. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is the highest ranked company from India followed by RIL. US-based retail company, Walmart topped the list.

India's economy is expected to clock GDP growth of 7.5% in this financial year as per Morgan Stanley report.

Global Innovation Index 2018 launched in New Delhi by Ratan P Watal, Principal Adviser, NITI Aayog. India’s rank on the Global Innovation Index (GII) has improved from 60 in 2017 to 57 in 2018.

Minister of Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal has released a report on Station Cleanliness conducted by Quality Council of India (QCI).

A1 category stations (out of 75): 1st: Jodhpur/North-Western Railway, 2nd: Jaipur/North-Western Railway & 3rd: Tirupati/South-Central Railway.

A category stations (out of a total of 332):

1st: Marwar/North Western Railway, 2nd: Phulera/North -Western Railway & 3rd: Warangal/South-Central Railway.

Zonal Railway rankings are: 1st: North Western Railway, 2nd: South Central Railway & 3rd: East Coast Railway.

BBC History Magazine conducted a reader's poll of 100 women who changed the world. In this poll, Marie Curie has been voted the woman who made the most significant impact on world history. The top 3 from the BBC History Magazine's '100 Women Who Changed The World': 1. Marie Curie, 2. Rosa Parks, 3. Emmeline Pankhurst.

Ease of Living Index 2018 was released by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with few most prominent cities failing to make a cut in the top 10. Of total 111 cities ranked under the index, Pune has been ranked first while Navi Mumbai has surfaced as the second preferred spot in terms of 'liveability'. Top 3 cities in the list are: 1. Pune, 2. Navi Mumbai, 3. Greater Mumbai. Bottom 3 Cities in The List are: Rampur (111th), Kohima (110th), Patna (109th).

Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) is considered to be the most patriotic brand, as per the survey conducted by UK-based online market research and data analytics firm YouGov, followed by Tata Motors, Patanjali, Reliance Jio and BSNL.

Smitha V. Crishna, a third-generation heir of the Godrej family, ranks first in the Kotak Wealth Hurun-Leading Wealthy Women 2018 list with an estimated wealth of Rs37,570 crore. Roshni Nadar, CEO and executive director at HCL, ranks second.

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised down its FY19 economic growth forecast to 7.2% from 7.4% earlier.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released the Global Liveability Index 2018, the ranking of 140 global cities based on their living conditions. Delhi was ranked at 112th position and Mumbai fetched 117th spot. Austria’s capital Vienna has been ranked as the world’s most liveable city.

Important Days

National Handloom Day is being observed every year on 7 August to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also carter an impetus to India’s handloom industry.

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed across the world on August 9. The theme was ‘Indigenous peoples’ migration and movement’.

World Biofuel Day is observed every year on August 10. It is being observed by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. On the occasion, PM Modi unveiled a Booklet on “National Policy on Biofuels 2018”, and launched “Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive and Virtuous Environmental Single window Hub”[PARIVESH].







The World Humanitarian Day is observed across the world on August 19 to pay tribute to workers who risk their lives in humanitarian services and to gather support for people affected by crises around the world. The campaign launched on World Humanitarian Day is "#NotATarget".

The National Sports Day is celebrated on 29th August every year to mark the birthday of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand.

Agreement Signed

In order to replace Industrial gases like Dissolved Acetylene, LPG, BMCG and Furnace Oil / High Speed Diesel (HSD) oil with environment friendly Natural Gas, Indian Railways has signed a MoU with GAIL (India) Limited, to provide infrastructure facilities for supply of Natural Gas to Indian Railways Workshops, Production Units and Depots at Rail Bhavan.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) signed an MoU on Enhancing Innovation for Clean Energy Transition.

An MoU was signed between the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and National Health Agency (NHA), to provide capacity building for Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to ensure effective rollout and continued quality implementation.

National Health Agency (NHA) under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the apex body for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), and Common Service Centres (CSC) scheme under the Digital India Programme, signed an MoU to provide information and eligibility validation services to beneficiaries, especially in remote areas.

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) and Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) signed pact for making mining equipment.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) signed an MoU to establish India-Nepal Centre. It will further strengthen economic engagement between the two countries.

Italian motorcycle-maker Benelli signed an MoU with Telangana government and Adishwar Auto Ride International (AARI) for setting a manufacturing facility.

Union Ministry of Water Resources, the NABARD and the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) signed a revised Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for funding of central share of 99 prioritised irrigation projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

An MoU has been signed between the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India for cooperation between the two Ministries for sensitizing the principals and training to teachers each of all functional EMRSs, Ashram Schools and other Schools supported by MoTA in the

country using the existing infrastructure of MoTA in the states.

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs & National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH have signed an MoU together. It aims to promote Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) forest produced for livelihood development of tribal people by promoting primary level value addition to MAPs produce from forest area at the grassroots level.

Awards & Recognition

Gopalkrishna Gandhi has been chosen for the 24th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for his contribution in promoting communal harmony, peace and goodwill. Gopalkrishna Gandhi is a former governor of West Bengal.

President Kovind presented the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the years 2013-2017, in New Delhi. The winners are: Dr Najma Heptullah (for year 2013) | Hukum Dev Narayan (for year 2014) | Ghulam Nabi Azad (for year 2015) | Dinesh Trivedi (for year 2016) | Bhartruhari Mahtab (for year 2017).

Rifleman Aurangzeb and Major Aditya Kumar of Indian Army will be conferred the Shaurya Chakra along with 18 others Armed Forces Personnel and members of Paramilitary Forces. Besides, Sepoy Vrahma Pal Singh will be awarded with Kirti Chakra posthumously.

Three US scientists James Allison, Carl June and Steven Rosenberg were declared winners 2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. They were awarded in recognition of their research in immunology and translation of their ideas into effective therapies that have led to innovative treatments for cancer, HIV and other diseases.

Delhi government’s additional director of health, SK Arora was awarded prestigious World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary contribution towards tobacco control.

United States government has awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to General Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retired), of the Indian Army, for exceptionally meritorious service as chief of the Army staff, Indian Army.

PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi will be honoured with the Game Changer of the Year award by a global cultural organisation Asia Society in recognition of her business achievements, humanitarian record and advocacy for women and girls around the world.

Former England captain David Beckham will receive the UEFA President's Award for his contribution to football and promoting the sport in "every corner of the planet".

Summits/Events Held

In order to meet the challenge of providing sustainable livelihoods for a rapidly growing population and to motivate and attract youth in agriculture, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR),







inaugurated a two-day conference at NASC, New Delhi on Motivating and Attracting Youth in Agriculture (MAYA).

Union Minister of Commerce& Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, is leading the Indian delegation for the 6th RCEP Trade Ministers’ Meeting which has begun in Singapore.

The third edition of World’s Biggest Open Innovation Model - Smart India Hackathon 2019 - was launched by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the International Buddhist Conclave in New Delhi. The theme of the conclave is 'Buddha Path – The Living Heritage'.

The 11th World Hindi Conference held in Port Louis the capital of Mauritius.

Two-day Indo-US Military Cooperation Meeting held in New Delhi as a prelude to 2 plus 2 Dialogue between the two countries scheduled in September 2018. It was co-chaired by Lt Gen Satish Dua, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) and Lt Gen Bryan Fenton, Deputy Commander, Indo-Pacific Command.

NITI Aayog to host an Investors’ Conference at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra for the Holistic Development of Islands. It will be inaugurated by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.

In the 29th meeting, GST council approves cash incentives to promote Digital transactions. FM announced 20% Cashback upto Rs. 100 for the Digital Transactions done via BHIM, Rupay or USSD mode.

NITI Aayog’s International Conference on “Sustainable Growth through Material Recycling: Policy Prescriptions” inaugurated by the Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi.

NITI Aayog has identified 117 districts as ‘Aspirational Districts’. These districts have been selected on the basis of composite index which includes published data of deprivation enumerated under Socio-Economic Caste Census, Health &Nutrition, Education and Basic Infrastructure.

3rd India-Nepal Coordination meeting held in New Delhi. A seven-member delegation from Nepal, headed by Inspector General of Nepal Armed Police Force Shailendra Khanal took part.

Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and Minister of State for Environment Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurated an exhibition entitled ‘Prathibandhit Sahitya mein Swatantrata Sangram’ (Freedom Movement through Proscribed Literature) in the premises of National Archives of India, in New Delhi.

NITI Aayog hosted an Investors’ Conference at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra for the Holistic Development of Islands along with the respective UT Administration. The Conference was inaugurated by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.

A special meeting of Senior Officials of the Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) held in Kathmandu. The theme

was "Towards a peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region".

Committees

Union Government constituted a four-member Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu. GoM has been constituted to advise PM Modi on whether to continue with or withdraw from the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations.

National Green Tribunal constituted a committee, to be headed by a former Allahabad High Court judge, for monitoring the rejuvenation project of Ganga from Haridwar to Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) constituted a group of experts from the health and nutrition sector to look into the issue of food labelling. The expert panel will be headed by B Sesikeran.

The Union Government has constituted a 21-member science and technology council to advise Prime Minister Narendra Modi on matters related to science, technology and innovations. The council will be headed by K Vijay Raghavan.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice S J Vazifdar as head of a three-member committee to decide mining company Vedanta's plea challenging closure of its Sterlite copper plant at Tuticorin.

Visits

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to visit Vietnam and Cambodia, with an aim to deepen India’s strategic cooperation with the two key nations in the ASEAN region. She will inaugurate the 3rd Indian Ocean Conference in Hanoi. In Vietnam, she will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission along with her Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh. After Vietnam, she will be visiting Cambodia where she will have a bilateral meeting with her Cambodian counterpart Prak







Sokhonn and also call on PM Hun Sen and President of Senate Say Chhum.

EAM Sushma Swaraj is now in Kyrgyzstan which is the second leg of 3-central Asian nations' visit. Before landing in Bishkek, the Minister completed a successful visit to Kazakhstan where she met the country's top leaders to discuss ways to consolidate its strategic partnership with India in areas like trade, energy, security and information technology.

Science & Technology Current Affairs

ISRO will outsource the production of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) and Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs) to private Industries. Note: The ISRO will launch Gaganyaan, India’s first manned mission to outer space in 2020.

India’s first Indian human mission will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by 2022. The programme will make India the fourth nation in the world to launch a Human Spaceflight Missio, after USA, Russia and China. PM Modi announced `Gaganyaan — India's maiden human spaceflight programme'.

A new European satellite named 'Aeolus' using advanced laser technology to track global winds and improve weather forecasts has been successfully put into orbit on a Vega rocket from French Guyana.

Ranchi-based software developer Ranjit Srivastava is developing the world's first Hindi-speaking humanoid robot, claimed to cost just Rs50,000 so far.

India will launch its second lunar mission “Chandrayaan-2” on January 3, 2019, to land on the moon with a lander and rover. The 800-crore rupees is the cost of lunar mission named “Chandrayaan-2”. The 3,890-kg Chandrayaan-2, which will be launched onboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-3, will orbit around the moon.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) blasted off a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms. NASA’s 'Parker Solar Probe' has become the first-ever mission to "touch" the Sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will travel directly into the Sun's atmosphere about 4 million miles from the surface.

The lander on the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which is scheduled to be launched in January 2019 will be named ‘Vikram’ after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Indian space programme.

Books & Authors

Spin legend Shane Warne will talk about his extraordinary cricketing career and his life off the pitch besides unveiling several unknown facts in his autobiography titled 'No Spin' which will be published in October 2018.

Veteran cricketer VVS Laxman, known for the suppleness of his wrists, has penned down his autobiography titled,

"281 and Beyond". The book will be released this year in November.

"Atal Ji Ne Kaha" is the latest book on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It is authored and compiled by Brijendra Rehi.

Miscellaneous Current Affairs

India's first biofuel-powered flight landed in Delhi, covering the distance between Dehradun & Delhi. It is developed by CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun. The flight test was successfully completed by SpiceJet.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) made public 13 standardised state-of-the-art ship designs suitable for large barge haulage on river Ganga (National Waterway-1). This marks attaining a critical milestone in the growth of the country’s Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector.

IT ministry launched a desktop software e-Aksharayan for Indian Languages Technology Industry ‘Bhashantara’, in New Delhi. The objective is to enable editing and printing of text in scanned documents. The software e-Aksharayan launched in 7 Indian languages.

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu launched a logo & tagline for Geographical Indications (GI) to increase awareness about intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the country. The slogan is- 'Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India'.

The 123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has got Parliamentary assent. It will give the institution all powers to safeguard the rights of the socially and educationally backward classes and fulfils a long pending commitment of the central govt to the OBCs. It seeks to establish the NCBC under the constitution with authority to examine complaints and welfare measures regarding OBCs. NCBC will have a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and 3 other members of which at least one will be a woman.

Minister of state for Culture (I/C), Dr Mahesh Sharma, released 3 books: ‘Jewellery’, ‘Ghats of Banaras’ and ‘Untold Story of Broadcasting’, at IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts), in New Delhi. ‘Jewellery’ was written by Dr Gulab Kothari. ‘Ghats of Banaras’ was written by Dr Sachidanand Joshi and ‘Untold Story of Broadcasting’ was written by Dr Gautam Chatterjee.

The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (in Sikkim) has become the 11th Biosphere Reserve from India that has been included in the UNESCO designated World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).

Indian-American high school student Avi Goel has won the world championship at the International Geography Bee’s junior varsity division which was held in Berlin, Germany. 14-year old Avi is a tenth grader at Silver Creek High School in Evergreen, San Jose, California.

Santhali (Santali), a tribal language primarily spoken in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, received global recognition when it got a Wikipedia edition in its own script.







NITI Aayog launched “Pitch to MOVE” - a mobility pitch competition that aims to provide budding entrepreneurs of India a unique opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a distinguished jury.

In the wake of Prime Minister’s vision for creating digital museums at stations using QR code, Ministry of Railway has made “digital screens” operational at 22 stations on this Independence Day as an innovative low-cost solution to spread awareness among public about the opulent heritage of Indian Railways.

Obituaries

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has passed away at the age of 80. Annan, who was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, served at the UN from 1997 to 2006.

Uri Avnery, a trailblazing Israeli journalist and peace activist and one of the first to openly advocate for a Palestinian state passed away at the age of 94.

US Senator John McCain, a celebrated Vietnam war hero, passed away after losing a battle to brain cancer. He was 81.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi passed away in Chennai.

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away. He was 89 years old.

Nobel Prize-winning British author V S Naipaul has died at the age of 85.

Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Das Tandon passed away at the age of 90.

Former India cricket captain Ajit Wadekar, who led the team to path-breaking Test wins in England and the West Indies, passed away after prolonged illness. He was 77.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has passed away aged 93 in Delhi. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was three times Prime Minister of India. First Term: May 1996, Second Term: 1998-1999 and Third Term: 1999-2004.

US singer Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76. The “Queen of Soul” was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and made her debut in 1961.

Eminent Indian writer and journalist Kuldip Nayar passed away in New Delhi following a brief illness. He was 95.

Countries| Capital| Currencies

Canada Currency: Canadian dollar, Capital: Ottawa. Donald Trump is the 45th President of the USA. Washington DC is the capital city of USA. Germany Capital: Berlin, Currency: Euro, Chancellor:

Angela Merkel. France President: Emmanuel Macron, Capital: Paris,

Prime minister: Edouard Philippe, Currency: Euro, CFP franc.

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli is the current Prime Minister of Nepal.

Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the current President of Nepal and commander in chief of Nepalese Army.

The Nepalese Rupee is the currency of Nepal.

Japan Capital- Tokyo, Currency- Japanese yen, PM- Shinzo Abe.

UK Capital- London, Currency- Pound sterling, Prime Minister- Theresa May.

Zimbabwe got independence from Britain in 1980. Harare is the Capital city of Zimbabwe.

Suva is the capital city of Fiji. The Netherlands Capital- Amsterdam, Currency- Euro and

USD. Saudi Arabia Capital: Riyadh, Currency: Saudi riyal. Canada Capital: Ottawa, Currency: Canadian dollar. Thailand Capital: Bangkok, Currency: Thai baht. Colombian Capital: Bogota, Currency: Colombian peso. Australia Capital- Canberra, Currency- Australian dollar. Halimah Yacob is the Present President of Singapore. Vietnam Capital: Hanoi, Currency: Vietnamese dong. Cambodia Capital: Phnom Penh, Currency: Cambodian

riel. Iran Capital: Tehran, Currency: Iranian rial, President:

Hassan Rouhani. Turkey Capital- Ankara, Currency- Turkish lira, President-

Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Qatar Capital- Doha, Currency- Qatari riyal. Mali Capital: Bamako, Currency: West African CFA franc. Paraguay Capital: Asuncion, Currency: Paraguayan

guarani. Bangladesh PM- Sheikh Hasina, Capital- Dhaka, Currency-

Bangladeshi Taka. Thailand Capital: Bangkok, Currency: Thai baht. Mauritius Capital: Port Louis, Currency: Mauritian rupee. Sri Lanka Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte,

Currency: Sri Lankan rupee, President: Maithripala Sirisena.

International Organizations/Companies in News from

August Current Affairs The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an eight-

member multilateral organization, established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.







Pakistan also became the full member of SCO along with India, taking its membership to 8. After the expansion of membership, SCO represents approximately 42% of the world’s population, 20% of its GDP and 22% of the landmass.

Google CEO- Sundar Pichai, Parent organization- Alphabet Inc., Headquarters- the USA.

Established in 1911, Benelli is one of the oldest Italian motorcycle-manufacturer and has presence in over 60 countries such as America, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. AIBD, established in 1977 under the auspices of UNESCO,

is a unique regional inter-governmental organisation and is mandated to achieve a vibrant and cohesive electronic media environment in the Asia-Pacific region through policy and resource development.

Aeolus is the fifth mission in ESA’s Earth Explorer series and also Arianespace's 50th launch for the European Space Agency.

Aeolus is part of the Copernicus project, a joint initiative of the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) to track environmental damage and aid disaster relief operations.

Bond-i is a Blockchain Operated New Debt Instrument. President of the World Bank- Jim Yong Kim. Headquarters

of World Bank- Washington, DC. The G20 comprises of total 19 countries plus European

Union (EU), representing 85% of global GDP, 80% of international trade, 65% of the world’s population. In 2008, the first G20 Leaders’ Summit was held in Washington DC, US.

North Korea Capital- Pyongyang, Currency- North Korean won, Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un.

Secretary-General of SAARC is Amjad Hussain B. Sial. SAARC headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal. Forbes- American Business Magazine, Founded in- 1917.

Headquarters- New York City, USA. UNEP was founded as a result of United Nations

Conference on Human Environment in June 1972. It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development Bank established in 1966. Headquarters of ADB is in Manila, Philippines. Takehiko Nakao is Present President of the Asian Development Bank.

BIMSTEC was formed in 1997 and it brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. The grouping accounts for 22 per cent of the global population. Nepal is the current chair of BIMSTEC.

BRICS is made up of China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. In December 2010, China, as the Chair, invited South Africa to join BRIC and attend the Summit in Sanya, China.

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation Headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Piyush Gupta is the chief executive officer of DBS. It headquarters in Singapore.

Financial Organizations in News

Urjit Patel- 24th Governor of RBI, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 1st April 1935, in Kolkata.

NABARD Chairman- Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 12 July 1982.

SBM, which has been in India since 1994, currently operates through four branches, in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ramachandrapuram.

United India Insurance Company headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Anupam Pahuja is the MD of PayPal India. HDFC Bank- India’s largest private bank by market

capitalization. HDFC Bank Chairman- Aditya Puri, Headquarters- Mumbai.

HSBC Headquarters in London UK. Surendra Rosha is the Chief Executive Officer of HSBC India.

Axis Bank Headquarters in Mumbai. Shikha Sharma is the present CEO and Managing director

of Axis Bank. Vijaya Bank Headquarters in Bengaluru. Bajaj Allianz

Headquarters in Pune. Samit Ghosh is the Managing Director & CEO of Ujjivan

Small Finance Bank Ltd. It Headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

RXIL is a TReDS platform operating since January 2017 and is promoted by the National Stock Exchange, Small Industries Development Bank of India, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank.

Arun Jaitley is the present Finance Minister of India. Sunil Mehta is the CEO of Punjab National Bank. It

headquarters in New Delhi. Singapore was the largest source of FDI during April to

June quarter with 6.52 billion dollars. Sameer Kumar Khare is the Joint Secretary in the Ministry

of Finance. Exim Bank Headquarters in: Mumbai, Founded in: 1982. SBI Chairman- Rajnish Kumar, Headquarters- Mumbai,

Established on- 01st July 1955. CEO of Airtel Payments Bank- Anubrata

Biswas|Headquarters of Airtel Payments Bank- New Delhi IBHFL is India’s 2nd largest Housing Finance Company. Sameer Gehlaut is the Chairman of Indiabulls Group since

inception. Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd (IBREL) started in the year 2005.

States| CMs| Governors| Capital| Ministers| Static

General Awareness Ravi Shankar Prasad is the present Minister of Electronics

and Information Technology of India. Rajasthan CM- Vasundhara Raje, Governor- Kalyan Singh. Piyush Goyal is the present Railways Minister of India. Andhra Pradesh CM- Chandrababu Naidu, Governor- ESL

Narasimhan. Mridula Sinha is the present Governor of Goa. Prakash Javadekar is the present HRD Minister of India. Jual Oram is the Cabinet Minister of Tribal Affairs.







The core zone – Khangchendzonga National Park was designated a World Heritage Site in 2016 under the ‘mixed’ category. Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve in Sikkim is one of the highest ecosystems in the world, reaching elevations of 1, 220 metres above sea-level.

Giriraj Singh is the Minister of State (I/C) of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The National Archives of India is an Attached Office under the Ministry of Culture. It was established on 11 March 1891.

Jagat Prakash Nadda is the Cabinet Minister of Health and Family Welfare.

Jual Oram is the Cabinet Minister of Tribal Affairs. Ram Nath Kovind is the 14th President of India. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of

Independent India. Gujarat CM- Vijay Rupani, Governor- Om Prakash Kohli. Jayant Sinha is the present Minister of State in the

Ministry of Civil Aviation. Banwarilal Purohit is the present Governor of Tamil

Nadu. Dharmendra Pradhan is the Minister of skill Development

and entrepreneurship & Petroleum and Natural Gas. J.P.Nadda is the present Minister of Health and Family

Welfare. Nitin Jairam Gadkari is the present Minister of Shipping of

India. Dr. Harsh Vardhan is the Minister, for Science &

Technology and Earth Sciences, Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Ashwani Lohani is the present Chairman of Indian Railways.

Assam CM- Sarbanand Sonowal, Governor- Jagdish Mukhi. Baleramji Dass Tandon is the present Governor of

Chhattisgarh. Anil Baijal is the present Lt. Governor of Delhi. Naya Raipur is the proposed administrative capital of

Chhattisgarh.

Other Static General Awareness from August 2018 Current Affairs

Dr. Indu Bhushan is the CEO of National Health Agency (NHA).

Dr. Dinesh Tyagi is the CEO of Common Service Centres-Special Purpose Vehicles (CSC-SPV).

Nutan Guha Biswas is the chairperson of IWAI. NITI- National Institution for Transforming India. NITI

Aayog Vice-Chairman- Rajiv Kumar, CEO- Amitabh Kant. IMPRINT is the first of its kind government-supported

initiative to address the major science and engineering challenges that India must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013 aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions.

R.S.Sharma is the present Chairman Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

TRAI was established with effect from 20th February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.

NGT Chairman: A K Goel, Headquarters: New Delhi. Ganesh Kumar Gupta is the present President of

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). FIEO headquarters in New Delhi. FIEO was set up in 1965.

Venkaiah Naidu is the Chairperson of Rajya Sabha. The Chairman of Airports Authority of India is

Guruprasad Mohapatra. Sandeep Jajodia is the present President of Assocham. It

Headquarters in New Delhi. Admiral Sunil Lanba is the Present chief of Naval Staff.

Air Chief Marshal DS Dhanoa is the present chief of Airforce Staff.

INS Vikramaditya is 284 metres long and 60 metres high that's about as high as a 20-storeyed building. The ship weighs 40,000 tonnes and is the biggest and heaviest ship in the Indian Navy.

Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa is the present Chief of Air Staff.

DRDO Headquarters in: New Delhi, Founded in: 1958. Dr Anil Sahasrabudhe is the Chairman of AICTE and

Chairman of Smart India Hackathon 2019. BSNL was incorporated on 15th September 2000.

Headquarters of BSNL is in New Delhi. Anupam Shrivastava is the Chairman & Managing Director and Director of BSNL.

MPEDA is a nodal coordinating state-owned agency engaged in fishery production and allied activities.

It was established in 1972 under Marine Products Export Development Authority Act (MPEDA), 1972.





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