17 August 2012 Current Affairs
P.M.’s Economic Panel Lowers the Indian Growth Estimate to 6.7% for 2012-13
Prime Minister’s economic advisory panel on 17 August 2012 pegged GDP growth for the current financial year to 6.7 percent. This is mainly due to poor Monsoon which will pull down the agriculture growth rate to 0.5 percent from 2.8 percent last year. “Economy will grow at 6.7 percent in 2012-13, Prime Minister’s economic Advisory council (PMEAC) chairman C.Rangarajan said that while releasing “Economic outlook for 2012-13”. He asked the government to open multi – brand retail to foreign investment and raise diesel prices in one (or) more steps to contain the subsidy bill. India has registered 6.5% growth in the fiscal year 2011-12. Which was the lowest in the past nine years.
New Envoy to Syria is Lakhdar Brahimi
The United Nations on 17 August, 2012 confirmed that Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will replace the former UN Secretary general Kofi Annan as the International mediator on Syria as the 17 month old conflict slides deeper into civil war. Brahimi, who served as Algeria’s foreign minister from 1991 to 1993 and joined UN in 1994 and served various high profile positions until he retired in 2005.
A Three member Committee to Resolve Hockey Affairs
The Indian Olympic Association has set up a 3 member committee to resolve the issue of how best to run the affairs of hockey in the country. Hockey India and the Indian. Indian Hockey Federation have been asked to present their case before the committee on August 21. The three members are former wrestling federation of India President G.S.Mander, the Indian Weigh lifting federation President Birendra Prasad.
Martime franck Famous Photographer passes away
Martime Framck, the world famous photographer and co-founder and president of the henri cartier- Bresson foundation in paris died on 17 august 2012.she was 74. An elegant, brooding beauty and a stunningly good photographer in her own right, she became a member of Magnum, the photo agency set up in 1947 by five photographers, including Frank Capa and Cartier-Bresson.