Current Affairs Update - 12 August 2016

Updated on : 10:51, 30 August 2016

— NATIONAL —

– I&B Minister inaugurates Independence Day Film Festival

• Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu Minister for Information & Broadcasting said that Indian Cinema not only played a vital role during the freedom movement, it also facilitated in spreading the message regarding the great deeds and valor of eminent leaders and personalities related to freedom movement.
• Having a profound impact on the minds and social behavior of people, it was necessary for films to have a social message.
• Shri Naidu stated this here today while inaugurating the week long “Independence Day Film Festival” at Siri Fort Auditorium. Col. RajyavardhanRathore, Minister of State for I&B and Shri.
• Ajay Mittal, Secretary, Ministry of I&B, noted film personalities ShriChitraarth and Shri A.K. Bir were also present on the occasion.

– Badal inaugurates first ‘Sewa Kendra’ in Punjab

• In order to provide efficient and transparent governance to the people at their doorsteps, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal inaugurated the state’s first ‘Sewa Kendra’ where people will be able to avail 243 services under one roof.
• This is a step towards ensuring governance reforms in the state. These centres would act as a catalyst to help people in getting their routine administrative works done in a speedy manner.
• A total of 2,147 SewaKendras have been constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore. Of these, 389 are in urban areas and 1,758 in rural areas which will provide more than 243 services to the people.

– Assam Assembly unanimously passes GST Bill

• The Assam Assembly unanimously passed the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST today, becoming the first state to ratify the crucial tax reform legislation.
• Finance Minister of Assam HimantaBiswaSarma tweeted on Friday morning that Assam has become the first state to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) constitution amendment Bill.
• It was the last day of Assam’s ongoing legislative assembly session, its first full session after the new BharatiyaJanata Party-led coalition government was sworn in after the assembly polls in May.

– Prez nod for six new IITs in country; NIT in AP

• Six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will be set up in places like Jammu and Tirupati as President Pranab Mukherjee gave his nod to a law in this regard.
• As per the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2016, which got Mukherjees assent on Tuesday, IITs will also be started in Palakkad (Kerala), Goa, Dharward (Karnataka) and Bhilai (Chhattisgarh).
• The law has also brought the Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad under its ambit. The ISM will now be called Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, the legislation said.

– Over 37k houses approved for urban poor in Haryana and Karnataka

• Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, HUPA has approved construction of over 37,000 houses for the urban poor in Haryana and Karnataka with central assistance of Rs 569 crore.
• The inter-ministerial Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee, chaired by HUPA Secretary Nandita Mukherjee, approved the project.
• The total investment in construction of these houses would be to the tune of about 1,491 crore.
• Over 36,000 houses for the economically weaker sections would be constructed in Karnataka with an investment of Rs 1,468 crore and 759 houses would be built in Haryana at a cost of Rs 23 crore an official release said.

– Shri Kiren Rijiju participates in Counter Terrorism Meeting in Bali

• The Minister of State for Home Affairs ShriKirenRijiju visited Indonesia to attend the International Meeting on Counter Terrorism on the theme “Countering Cross Border Movement of Terrorism” held in Bali, Indonesia.
• ShriKirenRijiju arrived in Bali on 9th August, 2016 and on the same day he had a bilateral meeting with Mr. Wiranto, Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs of Republic of Indonesia.
• During the meeting both sides reviewed all aspects of bilateral cooperation and reviewed defence and security cooperation, which is one of the five pillars of strategic engagement.
• Both sides agreed that being a close maritime neighbour and strategic partner they have shared interest in working together to deal with common global challenges, including combating international terrorism.
• Twenty countries and international and regional organizations including UN, Interpol and ASEAN participated in the conference.
• India, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia were represented at Ministerial level.

– Nagaland govt to grant 33% reservation to women in Urban Local Bodies

• The Nagaland Government has decided to grant 33 per cent reservation to women in Urban Local Bodies, ULBs. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting held in Kohima Wednesday.
• Chief Minister TR Zeliang announced this during the State Level Watershed Conference held in Kohima yesterday.
• Mr.Zeliang however said the state has not been able to avail the annual developmental funds granted by the Centre for ULBs, which was a big loss.
• Elections to the state ULBs have been pending for several years as the tenure of the first municipal bodies came to an end between December 2009 and March 2010.

– Krishna Pushkaralu off to a grand start

• Krishna Pushkaralu, the 12-day festival that comes once in every 12 years, begins on Friday with over three crore devotees expected to take a holy dip in the river across Andhra Pradesh.
• About 3.5 crore people are expected to take a holy dip in river Krishna in three districts of Andhra Pradesh but over 80 per cent of this crowd will be performing the rituals in Vijayawada, the hub of Krishna Pushkaralu every time.
• Having successfully completed the interlinking of rivers Godavari and Krishna through the Pattisam Lift Irrigation Scheme, the state government now wants to embark on the next step to link river Krishna with Penna.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

– UN to issue stamp to mark M S Subbulakshmi’s birth centenary

• The United Nations will issue a stamp in honour of carnatic music legend, M S Subbulakshmi, on her birth centenary next week, coinciding with the celebrations of India’s 70th Independence Day.
• India’s Permanent Mission to the UN said in a press statement that a photo exhibition will also be held from August 15 to 19 at the world body’s headquarters to commemorate Subbulakshmi’s birth centenary which falls on September 16.
• The Indian mission said, this year also marks the 50th anniversary of her performance at the UN and the photo exhibition will depict various facets and moments of Subbulakshmi’s life and times providing a rare insight to the music legend’s achievements.
• India’s Independence Day will be commemorated at the world body’s headquarters this year as Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman will enthrall UN diplomats and international dignitaries at a special concert in the UN General Assembly hall on August 15.

 

— BANKING —

– Banks should identify key areas for certification of staff: RBI committee

• A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee has recommended that banks should identify specialised areas for certification of staff manning key responsibilities.
• To begin with, it said banks should make acquiring of a certificate course mandatory for areas like treasury operations, including dealers, mid-office operations, risk management like credit risk, market risk and accounting, including preparation of financial results, audit function and credit management including credit appraisal, rating, monitoring and credit administration.
• RBI had constituted a Committee on Capacity Building in July 2014, under the chairmanship of former executive director, G Gopalakrishna, with the objective of implementing non-legislative recommendations of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC), relating to capacity building at banks and non-banks, streamlining training intervention and suggesting changes thereto in view of ever increasing challenges in the banking and non-banking sector. The Committee has made a number of recommendations for certification of staff.

– RBI transfers Rs 65,876 croresurplus to government

• The Reserve Bank will transfer to the central government its surplus profit of Rs 65,876 crore, marginally lower than the amount given last year.
• The (RBI Central) Board approved the transfer of surplus of the Reserve Bank for the year 2015-16 amounting to Rs 658.76 billion to the Government of India.
• The amount was Rs 65,896 crore for the previous year. RBI follows the July-June accounting year.
• The approval to transfer the surplus was taken at the 559th meeting of the Central Board of the RBI, chaired by Governor RaghuramRajan.

 

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

– IRDAI slaps Rs 35 lakh fine on BhartiAxa General Insurance

• IRDAI has imposed Rs 35 lakh fine on Bharti Axa General Insurance Co Ltd for violation of various norms including outsourcing activities and corporate governance guidelines.
• The fine is based on violation related with an inspection finding during December 2012 to March 2013.
• The insurer was making payments towards infrastructure expenses to corporate agents, making additional payout to licensed entities in the name of workshop, training, distribution of publicity material which were in violation of outsourcing guidelines, and fined Rs 5 lakh.

– Gamesa bags contract for KCT Renewable’s 40 MW wind energy project

• Gamesa has received order from KCT Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd for a 40 MW wind power project located at Molagavalli site in Andhra Pradesh.
• The project essentially comprises 20 units of G114-2.0 MW T106 turbines which are due to be commissioned by March 2017.
• Gamesa will be responsible for the supply, erection and commissioning of the wind farm.
• This order forms part of the 460 MW consolidated orders announced for India vide our global press release.

– Flipkart Now On Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Mobile Banking App

• Private Sector lender,Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB), announced the availability of Flipkart’s mobile site in its mobile banking app, which gives the customer a secure in-app shopping environment.
• KMB has been expanding the scope of offerings on its mobile banking app, and this move further strengthens its mStore which already allows booking of air tickets, hotels and bus tickets.
• Shopping on Flipkart via Kotak’smStore has its advantages.

 

— APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGN—

– RS appoints 10 MPs to jt panel on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

• RajyaSabha today named 10 of its members to the Joint Committee of Parliament that will go into the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
• A resolution moved by Minister of State for Home Affairs HansrajGangaramAhir, on behalf of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, for appointment of ten of its members to the Joint Committee of the LokSabha and RajyaSabha was carried by a voice vote.
• Members who were nominated to the Committee were VinaySahasrabuddhe (BJP), DilipPandya (both BJP), P Bhattacharya, Bhubaneswar Kalita (both Cong), Javed Ali Khan (SP), Derek O’ Brien (TMC), Harivansh (JD-U), PrasannaAcharya (BJD), Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP) and SwapanDasgupta (Nom).

– Microsoft appoints Sri ram Rajamani as MD of its India lab

• Microsoft today announced the appointment of Sri ram Rajamani as new managing director of its India lab.
• Based in Bengaluru, he will spearhead Microsoft India’s continued focus on world-class research, innovation and collaboration with the scientific community, the company said in a release.
• He will replace ChanduThekkath, who was the managing director of the lab for two years.
• Welcoming Sriram, Jeannette Wing, Corporate Vice-President Microsoft Research Labs said “India has one of the fastest growing and most dynamic IT industries, and it’s also a unique place in which to do cutting-edge research.”

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

– NASA Picks 6 Companies to Design Deep-Space Habitats

• NASA has selected six US companies to develop deep-space-habitat prototypes.
• Straight out of a science-fiction story, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration wants to build a safe place for humans to live as we spread beyond Earth.
• The selected partners are:
• Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas, Nev.
• Boeing of Pasadena, Texas
• Lockheed Martin of Denver, Colo.
• Orbital ATK of Dulles, Va.
• Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems of Louisville, Colo.
• NanoRocks of Webster, Texas
• Each company has up to 24 months to develop ground prototypes and/or conduct concept studies. The models will be used to support integrated systems testing, human factors, and operations testing, as well as help define overall system functionality.

 

— SPORTS —

– Australian women’s team claim first Rugby Sevens Olympic gold medal

• Australia’s undefeated women’s team claimed the first Rugby Sevens Olympic gold medal.
• After winning every game except for a draw with the United States, the Aussies beat rivals New Zealand 24-17 in the gold medal match at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
• Canada won the bronze medal with a 33-10 victory over Britain.
• Rugby was last included at the Olympics in Paris in 1924 when the United States beat hosts France in the final of a men’s 15-aside tournament.
• The men’s tournament begins at the Deodoro Stadium.

– Rio Olympics: Michael Phelps wins 22nd Olympic gold in 200 individual medley

• American Swimmer Michael Phelps bagged his 22nd Olympic Gold today when he won the 200 metres medley event at the Olympics Aquatic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
• The win gave Phelps his 13th individual gold medal, an Olympic record that burnishes his title as the world’s most decorated Olympian.
• The Gold was Phelps’ fourth of the Rio Games. He had, earlier, won the 4X200 metres freestyle relay, 200 metres Butterfly and 4X100 metres Freestyle Relay.
• Simone Manuel also created history for the US as she set a new Olympic record in the 100 metres freestyle and became the first African-American woman to win an individual swimming gold.
• American Ryan Murphy won his second Gold of the Games Olympics by finishing at the top of the podium in 200-metres backstroke event.

– Rio Olympics India

• In Rio Olympics, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna  advance to the Mixed Doubles quarterfinals; Indian Men’s Hockey team also enter quarterfinals; Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and K. Srikanth make winning starts.