Current Affairs Update - 25 August 2016

Updated on : 09:43, 30 August 2016

— IMPORTANT DAYS —

India celebrates Janmashtami

• Janmashtami – the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna which is also known as ‘Gokulashtami’ and ‘Krishna Jayanthi’ – is being celebrated in myriad ways across the nation.
• Rule Break: In Mumbai, ‘Govindas’ thronged the streets to celebrate ‘Dahi Handi’ – in which the norms set by HC denied.

— NATIONAL —

– Naqvi Launches Websites For Ministry Of Minority Affairs

• Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday launched a new Hindi website and released an updated version of the English website of his ministry.
• Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that his ministry was committed to serve the people through all means, which also include use of technology and social media.
• Naqvi said that the websites will provide a more interactive experience for users and help them to understand the programmes and schemes of the ministry in a simple and clear manner.
• The ministry has also been planning to launch a scholarship mobile app to provide an easy platform to students to apply for various scholarships through their mobile phones, he added.

– Cabinet approves signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Fiji

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of new Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Fiji.
• The Agreement is for updation of the existing Air Services Agreement (ASA) between the two countries which was signed on 28th January, 1974. The updation is as per latest ICAO template keeping in view the latest developments in civil aviation sector and with an objective to improve the air connectivity between the two countries.
• A draft text of Air Service Agreement has been finalized in consultation with Ministry of Law & Justice (Department of Legal Affairs), Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Revenue), Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Commerce and Ministry of Tourism.

– Cabinet approves MoU with Myanmar for cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Myanmar in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine.
• The MoU will provide structured frame work for cooperation between the two countries for promotion of AYUSH/Traditional Systems of Medicine in Myanmar. It will boost the importance of AYUSH systems of medicine and conservation, production and standardisation.

– National Career Service signs MoUs with Eleven Strategic Partners

• National Career Service (NCS) signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with strategic partners for enhancing quality and reach of employment services through the NCS network.
• These MoUs were signed with job portals companies Indeed, First Job, Freshersworld, Merajob and HT Shine etc. to enhance quality and reach of its employment generation services.
• Earlier, the NSC had partnered with leading organisations like Uber, Monster.com, Saral Rozgar, Quikrjobs, Indian Staffing Federation etc for  the same purpose.

– Madhya Pradesh, Delhi Assemblies pass GST Bill

• The Madhya Pradesh and Delhi Assemblies on Wednesday passed the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, becoming the seventh and eighth states/union territories to ratify the legislation.
• The Bill was previously passed by Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat in the listed order. The Constitution Amendment Bill requires ratification by at least 15 states to become a law.

– Children’s film festival being held in Nagaland

• The Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) has organised a film festival in Nagaland. Titled ‘CFSI Film Bonanza’, the week-long festival opened on August 23 and will cover all major cities like Kohima, Wokha, and Dimapur.
• “We have been very active in bringing high-quality children’s entertainment to the North-East by way of… CFSI films,” Shravan Kumar, CEO, CFSI, said.

– Cabinet approves MoU with South Africa to establish cooperation in Grassroots Innovation

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa to establish cooperation in Grassroots Innovation.
• The MoU was signed on July 07, 2016 at Pretoria in pursuance to the Inter-Government Agreement between two countries for cooperation in Science & Technology.
• The MoU will provide a mechanism and help in creating an ecosystem that will promote inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship at the grassroot level in both countries with particular focus on Indigenous knowledge systems and Agriculture Biotechnology.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

– Turkey Launches Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria

• Turkey launched its largest military operation into Syria, sending tanks, planes and ground forces into Jarabulus in an effort to clear the Islamic State from its last remaining frontier with Turkey.
• The offensive, led by Turkey-backed Syrian rebels, came days after an Islamic State-linked suicide attack in a Turkish border town.
• Turkey has been preparing for the Jarabulus operation for days.
• Last weekend, an Islamic State-linked suicide bomber attacked a Kurdish wedding in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, killing 54 – many them children. The attack was the latest in a string of Islamic State-linked bombings that have killed hundreds in Turkey over the last year.

– India, US innovation forum to be launched next week

• The Innovation Forum is a unique initiative of the U.S. and Indian governments to promote entrepreneurial culture and innovation partnerships in the U.S. and India. The Forum is the premier platform for Indian and U.S. innovators to exchange ideas, contacts, and best practices.
• It will focus on the relationships between academic researchers, the investor community, small businesses, multinational firms, and other key players in an innovation ecosystem, an official said. The Forum was first announced in September 2015.

 

— BANKING —

– 21 banks to go live with Unified Payments Interface, says NPCI

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in India, on Thursday announced that customers of 21 banks will shortly be able to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for sending and collecting money via a smartphone using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA).
• UPI will also provide an option for scheduling push and pull transactions for various purposes like sharing bills among peers.
• One can use UPI app instead of paying cash on delivery on receipt of product from online shopping websites and can pay for miscellaneous expenses like paying utility bills, over the counter payments, barcode (scan and pay) based payments, donations, school fees and other such unique and innovative use cases.

 

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

– Maharashtra government to transform 1,000 villages with the help of corporates

• The state government has decided to launch an initiative ‘mission transform’ of 1,000 villages across state to improve livelihood condition and sustainable development of villages with the help of corporate sector and civil society.
• The mission will be kicked off with 100 villages on October 2, birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This is the first kind of initiative in the country. The contribution for the mission will be 50-50% of the government and partnering agencies.
• Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting on Thursday in Mantralaya with 50 big corporate personalities such as Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra, Rajshree Birla including Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Executive director of Maharashtra state model village programme Popatrao Pawar to discuss the mission.
• Tag : Corporates observe their profit first even when they are donating.

– Cabinet approves signing of revised DTAA with Cyprus

• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for signing of revised double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Cyprus, a popular tax haven.
• It is also learnt to have approved the removal of island nation as a non-cooperative jurisdiction for income-tax purpose.
• Cyprus was the only country to have been blacklisted by India as a non-cooperative jurisdiction, due to lack of effective exchange of information.
• India and Cyprus had entered into a tax treaty in 1994, and are obliged to exchange information. On November 1,2013, the Finance Ministry had notified Cyprus as a non-cooperative jurisdiction following failed discussions to secure the desired level of cooperation.

 

— APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGN—

– Sakshi Malik made brand ambassador for Beti Bachao, Beti Padao campaign in Haryana

• Wrestler Sakshi Malik was named as Haryana’s brand ambassador for Beti Bachao, Beti Padao (save daughter, educate daughter) campaign in Haryana. Sakshi Malik had won bronze medal in wrestling at 2016 Rio Olympics in the 58 kg category.
• She had created history by becoming first women from India to win Olympics medal in wrestling. Announcement in this regard was made by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal  Khattar after awarding Malik with 2.5 crore rupees and Commendation Certificate.

 

— AWARDS AND HONOURS —

– Satheesh Reddy conferred first IEI-IEEE award

• G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO’s DG (Missiles & Strategic Systems), was conferred the first IEI-IEEE Award for engineering excellence 2015.
• The award is in recognition of his ‘significant national contributions towards missiles and aerospace technologies’, an official release said.
• The award was presented by the Institution of Engineers (India) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Asia Pacific region, during the latter’s 50th anniversary.

– 5 Indian companies in Forbes’ most innovative list

• A total of five Indian companies have made it to the Forbes list of ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’ of 2016. India’s largest paint company Asian Paints was ranked 18, the highest among Indian firms.
• Further, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Sun Pharma, and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were the other four named in the list.

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

– Astronaut breaks US record: 521 days in space and counting

• Astronaut Jeffrey Williams has a new record for NASA under his space belt.
• The commander of the International Space Station marked a U.S. recording-breaking 521st day in orbit 24th of August, a number accumulated over four flights.
• That surpasses the 520-day record set by Scott Kelly, whose one-year space station mission ended in March.
• By the time Williams returns to Earth in two weeks to close out his latest half-year trip, he will have logged 534 days off the planet for NASA.

 

— OBITUARY —

– A.R. Kidwai passes away

• Akhlaq Ur Rahman Kidwai, who served as Governor of States, including Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana, passed away on Wednesday here after brief illness. He was 96.
• A recipient of Padma Vibhushan, Dr. Kidwai was admitted to Escorts hospital here, 10 days ago after he had suffered breathing complications.
• Born in 1920 in Baragaon village of Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh, Kidwai is survived by two sons and four daughters. His funeral will be held on Thursday.

• Dr. Kidwai served as Governor of several States for a record period of 17 years — in Bihar (twice from from 1979 to 1985 and 1993 to 1998), West Bengal (1998 to 1999) and Haryana (2004 to 2009). In addition to holding temporary charge of Governor of Punjab and of Rajasthan and Administrator of Delhi and of Chandigarh.