11 August 2017 Current Affairs
Kang becomes first Indian to qualify for javelin throw finals
Davinder Singh Kang has become the first Indian to qualify for the final round of the javelin throw World Championships while his compatriot Neeraj Chopra crashed out in the qualification round. He had an 82.22m in his opening throw and then came up with 82.14m in his second. No Indian has ever qualified in the men’s javelin throw final round in any world championship.
UP Government launches Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra
Uttar Pradesh Government has launched a new awareness drive called Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra. The drive will be focusing on cleanliness along the banks of Ganga river and maintain hygiene. The drive will be covering a total area of around 1,025 kms. It will pass through 108 blocks of 25 districts of UP from Bijnore to Ballia alongside the Ganga covering around 1,025 kms. Under it, above one lakh Homeguard volunteers will organise public gathering and other awareness programmes in the district under Namami Gange Project.
SEBI Launches Online Registration for Custodians of Securities
Markets regulator SEBI has introduced an online registration mechanism for custodians of securities to make it convenient for them to do business. The new system would help custodian of securities to complete registration and other regulatory filings with Sebi much faster and in a cost-effective manner.
Facebook launches ‘Watch’ for original TV content
In an apparent bid to take on Google-owned YouTube, Facebook has rolled out ‘Watch’, a redesigned video platform for creators and publishers. Watch is a platform for all creators and publishers to find an audience, build a community of passionate fans, and earn money for their work. It is personalized to one in discovering new shows, organized around what your friends and communities are watching.
Google, NSDC Launch Android Skill Development Programme
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Google India launched Android Skill Development Programme to impart mobile app development training on the Android and Web platform and improve the quality of mobile app development ecosystem in India. Under the initiative, NSDC would introduce a specific course to create applications for the mobile platform that can be used on smart phones and tablets running on the Android operating system. The 100-hour duration course is designed to be delivered by NSDC’s partner agencies, outside the formal education system. NSDC and Google India will also work together to focus on up-skilling Android trainers under the programme.
India and US to co-host Global Entrepreneurship Summit
India and US are going to co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad, Telangana from 28th to 30th November 2017. American delegation will be led by US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump. The summit will serve as a unique opportuniy for bringing together entrepreneurs and start-ups with global leaders. The summit is being organized by the NITI Aayog in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs. Earlier it was hosted by the US State Department.
Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as the 13th Vice President of India
M. Venkaiah Naidu was sworn in as the 13th Vice President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath to 68-year-old Naidu at a grand ceremony. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader defeated opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, by more than 270 votes in the vice-presidential election held on 5 August. Naidu succeeds Hamid Ansari, who finished his decade-long tenure as the vice president and Rajya Sabha chairman. He was born on 1st July 1949 in Chavatapalem, a village in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Before nomination to vice-president post, Venkaiah Naidu was Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information and Broadcasting Minister under the Narendra Modi government. Naidu is also the founder of Swarna Bharath Trust, a social service organization.
RBI to pay Rs 30,659 cr dividend to Govt for 2016-17
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it will pay Rs 30,659 crore dividend to the government for the year ended June 30, less than half of what it paid in 2016. The central bank had in the previous year paid Rs 65,876 crore dividend to the government. RBI had in 2014-15 paid Rs 65,896 crore dividend and Rs 52,679 crore in the year prior to that. The dividend payout was less than Rs 33,010 crore in 2012-13.
US Scientists develop micropropulsion system based on liquid water
Engineers from Purdue University in US have designed and tested a micropropulsion system called a Film-Evaporation MEMS Tunable Array (FEMTA) thruster that uses liquid water as the propellant for orbital maneuvering of tiny satellites called CubeSats. CubeSats are basically miniature satellites which typically weigh around two kilograms. In the future, they have potential to carry out tasks like imaging and remote-sensing currently performed by the heavier satellites which are expensive to build and launch. CubeSats at present cannot totally replace their larger counterparts as they are incapable of changing orbit or performing complex manoeuvres as they do not have a propulsion system. If CubeSats would be having system would allow such tiny satellites to correct their orbit or maintain their altitude, thereby prolonging their operating life in space before becoming space debris.
Govt approves 10 Namami Gange projects worth Rs 2033 crore
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved ten projects in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal to the tune of about Rs. 2,033 crore. These projects were approved in the 5th meeting of the Executive Committee of NMCG. Eight of ten projects pertain to sewage infrastructure and treatment, one each to ghat development and Ganga Knowledge Centre. In bihar, three major sewage infrastructure projects were approved in Brh, Kankarbagh and Digha. In West Bengal, three projects were approved. Out of these two pertain to sewage infrastructure while the third one is for ghat development. In Uttar Pradesh, sewage infrastructure work in Chunar, district Mirzapur, has also been approved at an estimated cost of around 28 crore rupees.
LS passes bill to approve SBI associates’ merger
The Lok Sabha passed a bill that approved merger of associate banks with the SBI with the government. The Lok Sabha passed the bill to repeal the SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act 1959, State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956 and to further amend the State Bank of India Act, 1955, following the merger of five associates with the parent SBI. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) merged with SBI on 1 April along with the Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
NGT bans use of plastic bags of less than 50 microns in Delhi
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has banned plastic bags thinner than an average human hair in the capital, stepping in to eliminate the most common shopping accessory that clogs sewers, pollutes the environment and even kills cattle. In an interim order, a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on anyone found in possession of non-biodegradable plastic bags less than 50 microns, which is the thickness of a human hair. Microns, short for micromillimetre, is the global measurement unit for thickness of plastic bags. The thinner the bag, the more harmful they are to the environment. The green court directed the Delhi government to seize the banned bags within a week. However, implementing the NGT order could be a tough job as a similar ban by the Centre last year failed to make stop the use of such bags.
PNB Introduces Biometric Attendance System
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has introduced biometric attendance in the place of the existing system of signing attendance in the attendance register. The biometric attendance system has already been integrated with the in-house human resources management system. The new system of marking attendance will be implemented in branches/offices with immediate effect. Manual attendance system will run parallel up to August 31, to streamline the process. In exceptional cases, but in no case more than three occasions in a month, an employee may be permitted a grace margin of up to 15 minutes. Reporting/exit timings will be uploaded in the HR system automatically.
Real Madrid wins 2017 UEFA Super Cup
Real Madrid has defeated Manchester United, the winners of the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League, to grab the 2017 UEFA Super Cup. Real Madrid won the match 2-1 for their fourth UEFA Super Cup title. The match was played ta the Philip II Arena in Skopje, Macedonia. It was the first UEFA final staged in the country. Real Madrid’s Isco was declared the Man of the Match.