Current Affairs One Liners  August 22-31 Download as PDF

NATIONAL

1. Govt To Replace Physical Police Verification Of Passport Applicants With Online Verification Within A Year. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishisaid, the CCTNSis expected to be linked with the passport service of the External Affairs Ministry allowing online police verification for passports within a year.
2. The Information and Broadcasting Ministryconstituted a 40-member ‘preview committee’with filmmaker VivekAgnihotri as its convenor to select movies for the international film festival at Goa. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa from November 20 to 28.
3. Rajasthan governmentand state owned oil firm HPCLinked an agreement to form a joint venture company for Barmer petroleum refinery and petrochemical complex. In a new firm, HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), state government will have 26% and HPCL will have 74 per cent of partnership.
4. ‘SwasthBachche, Swasth Bharat’Programme, an initiative of KendriyaVidyalayaSangathanto prepare a physical Health and Fitness Profile Card for more than 12 lakhs of KendriyaVidyalaya students was launched in Kochi by  Union Minister for Human Resource Development PrakashJavadekar
5. The cloud seedingexperiment taken up at cost of 35 crore, called Project Varshadhari, began. This cloud seeding operation, a first in Magadi and Ramanagaram, aims to condense small water particles by clouds (size less than 10 microns) to droplets of 50 microns, which can constitute rains.
6. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will launch the Mentor India Campaign in New Delhi. The campaign is a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can nurture and guide students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs.The labs are dedicated workspaceswhere students from Class 6^th to 12^th learn innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform India.
7. The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)has sanctioned a loan assistanceof Rs 1,349.55 crore to the Rajasthan government for creation of rural infrastructure in the state under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
8. Andhra Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL)and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd (SPDCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR, the world’s first interoperable quick response code acceptance solution launched by the Reserve Bank of India.
9. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sportsis going to establish National Sports Museum, first of its kind, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
10. The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singhchaired the 42nd Annual General Body Meetingof the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society.The Meeting approved the Annual Report & Audited Accounts of the NMML Society for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16.
11. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiapproved a proposal for setting up of a Commission under article 340 of the Constitution to examine the issue of sub-categorization of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
12. Finance Minister Arun Jaitleychaired the 17th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in New Delhi. The Council discussed the issues and challenges facing the Indian economy and stressed the need to keep constant vigil to manage any external and internal vulnerability.
13. UIDAIhas joined hands with CSC India for launching door step enrolment facility in the national capital for the elderly, patients and others who cannot travel the Aadhar centres. The van was flagged off by Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. UIDAI Chief Executive Officer Ajay Bhushan Pandey said at the ‘National Conference on Emerging Opportunities through CSC”.
14. Cabinet has also approved framework of consolidation of public sectors banks.The decision is aimed at creating strong and competitive banks in publicsector to meet the credit needs of a growing economy, absorb shocks and have capacity to raise resources without depending unduly on the State exchequer.
15. Governmenthas clarified that five percent GST is applicable on selling of space for advertisement in print media if an agency buys space from the newspaper and sells the same to clients on its own account.
16. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of Ministry of Railways to close the Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company Limited (BWEL)– a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Ministry of Railways.
17. A new policyfor cadre allocationhas been finalised by the Central government for IAS, IPS and other officers, aimed at ensuring “national integration” in the country’s top bureaucracy.Officers of all-India services – the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS)– will have to choose cadres from a set of zones instead of states.
18. Jagdish Mukhi, Lieutenant Governor, Andaman and Nicobar Islands,commissioned IN LCU L52 into the Indian Navy at Port Blair. IN LCU L52 is the second Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy. The ship has been indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.
19. The Assam governmentsaid that it will notify a scheme for compassionatefamily pensionin lieu of job offers to family members as it did not serve the objective due to practical difficulties. Accordingly, it is proposed to notify a new scheme called ‘Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension in lieu of Compassionate Appointment’, which will be known as ‘Compassionate Family Pension Scheme’ or CFP Scheme
20. The Supreme Courtpronounced that individual privacyis a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. The ruling was delivered by a rare nine-member bench and is based on an array of petitions that challenge the mandatory use of Aadhaar cards which assign a unique 12-digit ID to every citizen.The bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, ruled privacy was part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed to all citizens under Article 21 of the Constitution.
21. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajwill inaugurate the country’s first Videsh Bhavan, assimilating all Regional Passport Officesunder one roof, at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
22. Indiais emerging as a very important regionalstrategic partner for the US that has played an important role in helping Afghanistan by supporting the war-torn country’s economy.
23. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)approved renaming the new central food processing scheme SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) with an aim to benefit 20 lakh farmers and generate 30 lakh jobs by 2020
24. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikinaugurated grid connected roof top solarprogramme in a bid to enable public participation to harness renewable energy. A web platform rtsodisha.gov.in was also launched to help project stakeholders interact with consumers and provide services.
25. NITI Aayog’s Three Year ActionAgenda was unveiled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The NITI Aayog while suggesting a host of reforms came out with a detailed plan for reforms in the economy, judiciary, regulatory structure and social sectors, in its ‘Three Year Action Agenda, 2017-18 to 2019-20’.
26. Civil AviationMinistry launched the second round of bidding for its Regional Connectivity Scheme-UDAN. The scheme aims at providing connectivity to special priority areas which include Jammu and Kashmir, North East, Lakshadweep, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
27. Government has constituted a task force on Artificial Intelligence for the country’s Economic Transformation.
28. The 18-member panel, headed by V. Kamakoti of IIT Madras, will comprise of experts, academics, researchers and industry leaders. It will explore the possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence for development across various fields.
29. Indian Space Research Organization ISRO has scheduled its next satellite launch on the 31st of this month. A release from the national space agency has said it would put into orbit the IRNSS-1H satellite at 18:59 hours on the day using the rocket PSLV-C39 from Sriharikotta.
30. In Assam, a new internet based software ‘Eronet’ introduced by the Election Commission of India will be launched in Assam on 28th August. General voters may apply online for facilitation of various activities relating to electoral roll through the already in-use portal in and Eronet.
31. Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. (EESL), under the Ministry of Power, Government of India had put out a mega tender for procurement of 50 lakh smart meters in July, which would help in reducing AT&C losses, power theft and also help in monitoring of round the clock power supply eventually leading to greater efficiency and 24X7 power for all.
32. The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh released the Department of Administrative Reforms and Grievances (DARPG)’s Grievance Study Analysis of 20 Ministries.
33. The Odisha government unveiled a statue of Sanjukta Panigrahi on her 74th Birth anniversary as a mark of respect to the state’s foremost exponents of Odisa dance. She was conferred Padmashree in 1975 and Sangeet Natak Akademy Award in 1976.
34. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan sought steps by the Centre to find a site at Barunei Fort near Khurda in coordination with Odisha Government for setting up a memorial to commemorate the Paika rebellion of 1817.
35. The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to build an Eco-Park on over 34 acres of land reclaimed from encroachers in the state’s Rajouri district. The park is a first-of-its-kind project in the region. It will have a botanical garden, a cactus garden, a cafeteria.
36. The Gurugram district administration has decided to sanction 50 new green-fuel stations in Millennium City here in the next three years to control rising air pollution, a pollution control department.
37. The first edition of Rural Games or Grameen Khel Mahotsav will kick-start in Delhi. Sports Minister Vijay Goel announced it at a press conference in New Delhi. The games will start from August 28^th to September 3^rd.
38. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley announced the launch of the production of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) designed 5.8-tonne category Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in Bengaluru.
39. Kochi initiated e-waste disposal scheme which was launched by education Minister Prof C Raveendranath and is aimed at cleaning e-waste like computer, PC and other electronic equipment from the schools.
40. The Raipur Smart City Ltd has initiated the process for implementing the ‘Raipur City Smart Payment System’ and comprises preparations of City Smart Cards, Mobile App and a web portal on Public Private Partnership Model. Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) has also taken the next step in “Smart City’ development with plans now for ‘Information & Communication Technology” enablement of infrastructure and citizen services.
41. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 500 crore relief package for Bihar after conducting an aerial survey of the flood-hit regions in the state. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh to the kin of the victims and Rs 50,000 for those injured during the floods.
42. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh addressed a gathering at the Sankalp Se Siddhi program in Varanasi which was organized by ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kanpur, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad and Krishi Vigyan Kendra
43. Indian Army will finally get an advanced Medium-Range Surface To Air Missile (MRSAM) system by 2020 and will be produced by premier defence research organisation DRDO in collaboration with the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed a Rs 17,000 crore deal with the IAI for the ambitious project. The MR-SAM, a land-based version of the long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) for the Navy, will have a strike range of up 70 km.
44. The first edition of Miss Transqueen India, a beauty pageant for transgenders, will take place in Gurugram. Miss Transsexual Australia 2017 Laeticia Phylliscia Raveena will be crowning the first Miss Transqueen India in the event.
45. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley launched BEML’s third Line Ultra Modern Metro Manufacturing Facility to enhance the production of metro cars for the forthcoming metro projects in India. He inaugurated the indigenously designed and developed biggest ever diesel excavator BE1800D and crawler dozer BD475-1 and T-72 hull, meant for fitting into tanks, at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) unit of Bharath Earth Movers Limited.
46. Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa inaugurated the 56th annual three-day conference of Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bengaluru.
47. Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the ‘100 percent computer literate‘ not only in the state but in the entire North East. The training program was organised by Mangaal Rural, an NGO working for rural development. The Nungthang Tampak has become India’s second 100 percent computer literate village in India. Kerala’s Chamravattom village is the country’s first 100 percent computer literate village.
48. Ministry of Textiles has decided to organize Pan India camps in handlooms and handicrafts clusters, under the initiative –Hastkala Sahyog Shivir from 7th to 17th of October this year. This initiative is dedicated to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Garib Kalyan Varsh, the birth centenary year of Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay.
49. The Department of Tourism through Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) has planned to launch “Dasara Special Tour Package” in Golden Chariot Luxury Train to promote the State festival. Golden Chariot is the South India’s first and only luxury tourist train run by KSTDC. The train will depart from Yeshwantpur railway station.
50. Realty firm Supertech has received green nod for developing a sports-centric housing project in Greater Noida that would entail an investment of 1,130 crore. The proposed residential project ‘Sports Village’ will be launched during Diwali this year and will be completed in four years.
51. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH India on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany signed an agreement on technical cooperation under the “Indo-German Energy Programme – Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC)”.
52. Ministry of Youth Affairs and sports has launched Sports Talent Search Portal to spot the best talent from among the young population of the country. The portal was launched by the Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu at a function at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. Any person interested in registration on the portal can visit nationalsportstalenthunt.com Or www.nationalsportstalenthunt.in by following the registration procedure to upload their achievements and videos etc.
53. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate various National Highway projects in Rajasthan includes six Lane Cable Stayed Bridge across River Chambal at Kota, four laning of Gomati Chauraha – Udaipur section and four laning of Rajsamand – Bhilwara section.
54. Information and broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani will inaugurate 92nd foundation course programme for civil services probationers at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of administration in Mussoorie.
55. The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions. The conference was attended by all Defence Pensioners Associations and was open to all Defence Pensioners. Additional Controller General of Defence Accounts (Addl. CGDA) Shri Prashant Sukul, emphasized the importance of stakeholder consultations by way of Synergy Conferences initiated by DAD.
56. The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Mumbai is going to set up a special emergency railway helpline to respond to passengers’ complaints quickly.
57. Commuters can dial 1512 to directly report thefts, harassment of women, fights, etc. to the nearest officer. Within five minutes, a GRP team will arrive outside the complainant’s compartment at the next station.
58. Under AMRUT, 15 crore funds have been allocated for Jammu, covering the sectors like urban transport, green spaces, drainage and sewerageUnder the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
59. The Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha has called upon C-DOT,Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to innovate and develop Telecom products at reasonable costs for exporting to SAARC countries and other developing regions of the world.
60. The panel mandated to review the National Mineral Policy, 2008, and suggest a new framework will submit its report by October-end. The 29-member panel, under the chairmanship of Mines Additional Secretary K Rajeswara Rao—consisting of joint secretaries from ministries like coal, steel, shipping, road, transport and highways and finance etc.

INTERNATIONAL

1. The 10th round of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement between India and Canada started in New Delhi. The commerce ministry said both sides discussed issues relating to goods market access. The previous round of negotiations was concluded in New Delhi in March 2015.
2. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Union Ministry of Health inked a pact with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI),South Korea to collaborate on vaccine research and The MoU was signed between Dr SoumyaSwaminathan, Director General of ICMR and Secretary, Department of Health Research Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Dr Jerome H Kim, Director General of IVI, South Korea.
3. Vice President M Venkaiah Naiduhas said that Indiaand Uzbekistan should work for increasing trade to the tune of one billion US dollar by March 2018.
4. Typhoon Hato, a maximum category 10 storm, to hit Hong Kong since typhoon Vicente in 2012. This slammed into Hong Konglashing destructive winds and waves which uprooted trees and flooded streets.
5. A two-dayMeeting of Heads of Governments of Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO)Member States will begin at Choplon Ata in Kyrgyz Republic.
6. The meeting will focus on prevention and elimination of emergency situations.Home Minister Rajnath Singhis leading the Indian delegation which includes senior officers from Home and External Affairs Ministries and National Disaster Management Authority. India had joined the SCO in June in Kazakhstan capital Astana.
7. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modihas given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)between India and Nepal on Drug Demand Reduction and Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and precursor chemicals and related matters.
8. The United Stateshas sent its first shipment of anthracite coalto Ukraine from the S. port of Baltimore under a deal designed to increase Ukraine’s energy security.
9. World’s largest bicycle parkinggarage opens in the Netherlands. It has over 10,000 cyclistsriding to work, school or home. Utrecht has opened the world’s largest bicycle parking garage.
10. Qatarhas restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, disregarding the demands of Arab nationsthat it lessen its ties to Tehran.
11. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced early that the country’s ambassadorwould return to Tehran.
12. The United Stateshas announced plans to install radar systemsin Palau which is about 1,300 kilometres south-west of Guam, the US Pacific territory
13. A Tri-Services bandfrom the Indian Armed Forcesis participating and performing in the prestigious International Military Music Festival “Spasskaya Tower” in Moscow.
14. “Spasskaya Tower” is the parade of thebest military music bandsof Russia and other countries that takes place every year at Red Square in Moscow.
15. Government prospects to achieve over 8% growth in 2-3 years reported NITI AYOG
16. Software giant Microsofthas announced its Project Brainwave deep learning acceleration platform for real-time artificial intelligence (AI).
17. Software giant Microsoftwill come to the aid of farmers in Karnatakawho constantly struggle with an unpredictable market. The Agriculture Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft India to develop an unique ‘farm price forecasting model’ using the latest IT tools in a bid to help farmers, administrators and other stakeholders understand the market behaviour in advance.
18. The United States has slapped strong financial sanctions on Venezuela, barring banks from any new deals with the government.
19. US President Donald Trump has signed a memo ordering the Pentagon to ban an Obama-era plan of recruiting transgender individuals in the military, a move Democrats said was “cruel” and meant to “hurt and humiliate” American soldiers.
20. China has banned North Korean individuals and enterprises from doing new business in the country, in line with United Nations Security Council sanctions passed earlier this month.
21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction the utilisation of the two Lines of Credit of USD.
22. A Festival of India is being organized in Brazil from 31 August-9 September 2017. The Festival will showcase diverse Indian culture. The events will be held in the cities of Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
23. The CA Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN). Nilesh Vikamsey, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Prakash Jung Thapa, President–ICAN exchanged the MoU in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba.
24. India and Nepal signed eight memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on the second day of the neighbouring country’s visiting Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in New Delhi.
25. India termed as “factually incorrect” a Chinese official media report claiming that it was planning to impose fresh anti-dumping duties this year on 93 products originating in China, saying they were already in force after decisions over a course of five years.
26. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the announcement of granting 430-million euro loan to Iraq whose economy has been weakened by low oil prices and its fight against jihadistsduring talks in Baghdad with Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
27. A Reserve Bank of India appointed committee on Household Finance chaired by Dr Tarun Ramadorai, Professor of Financial Economics has suggested that banks to link their home loan rates to the RBI’s repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks, instead of the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR), which the banks follow now.
28. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has given a nod to Spice Digital Ltd. for processing bill payments under the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU).
29. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will participate in the two-day Indian Ocean Conference (ICO) to be held in Colombo. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister and President are among key speakers in the event on the theme of “peace, progress and prosperity”. This will be second ICO conference. The conference will be inaugurated by Seychelles vice-president Vincent Meriton, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Singapore foreign affairs minister Vivian Balakrishnan besides Ms Swaraj, while Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will deliver the valedictory address.
30. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley handed over the Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) jointly developed by India and Israel, to the Indian Navy, at Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL). Jaitley also inaugurated the ASTRA Manufacturing Unit at the BDL’s Bhanur unit.
31. Adani Group plans to start work on its $16.5 billion Carmichael coal project in Australia in October.
32. Tuvalu Island Is the Least-visited Country in the World has also become a compelling place to study the effects of climate change. Sea levels have been rising sharply, and the N. listed it as one of the islands the most likely to disappear into the ocean in the 21st century.
33. Taiwan has launched Formosat-5, the first homegrown observation satellite, from an air base in the US. The satellite is equipped with Complementary Metal-oxide-semiconductor sensors to observe the Earth. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called the launch a great leap that demonstrates Taiwan’s technological progress.
34. Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000, as the world’s toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect.
35. India and China have agreed to an “expeditious disengagement” of troops in a disputed border area where their soldiers have been locked in a stand-off for more than two months
36. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences here inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting System for Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique at the third Ministerial Meeting of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Asia and Africa (RIMES), held at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

37. After Kalpana Chawla, Jasleen Kaur Josan has become the 2nd Indian Women and first Sikh women to be selected by NASA for the Mars Expedition happening in 2030. The mission called the Orion Mission will be the first man mission to the red planet and candidates were selected from around the world.
38. In a move to promote acceptance and equality, Canada has introduced a third sex category option on passports and other government documents.
39. Union Cabinet has approved a MoU between India and Israel on India-Israel Industrial Research and Development and Technological Innovation Fund. The two countries will make an contribution of four million dollars each for the fund annually for five years.
40. India and UAE held discussion on possibilities of co-operation in sustainable clean energy and the issues relating to environment and climate change.
41. Minister of State Shri MJ Akbar paid official visits to Ghana and Equatorial Guinea from 14-18 August, 2017. During an official visit to Ghana from 14-16 August 2017 to launch the Freedom@70 celebrations and to inaugurate FICCI’s ‘Namaskar Africa’ trade show. It was the first bilateral Ministerial visit from India after the new government assumed office in January 2017.
42. The Trump administration notified Congress that it was putting USD 255 million in military assistance to Pakistan into the equivalent of an escrow account that Islamabad can only access if it does more to crack down on internal terror networks launching attacks on neighbouring Afghanistan.
43. The 10th India-European Union Counter Terrorism Dialogue was held at New Delhi. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism at the Ministry of External Affairs of India, while the European Union’s delegation was led by Mr. Pawel Herczynski, Director for Security Policy, European External Action Service.
44. The Fourth Session of the India-Tanzania Joint Trade Committee meeting was held in New Delhi. The Indian delegation was led by Hon’ble Minister for State for Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge) Nirmala Sitharaman. The Tanzanian delegation was led by the Hon’ble, Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Mr.Charles John Mwijage.

BANKING & BUSINESS

1. Bankswill have to pay 3 per centIntegrated Goods and Services Tax(IGST) on imports of gold and silver, which can be claimed as input tax credit.
2. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indiahas inked an agreement with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)to deepen bilateral cooperation in telecom and broadcasting regulation.
3. The board of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, ONGC,has given ‘in-principle’ approval to acquire government’s 11 per cent stakein Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. The government last month had approved sale of its 51.11 per cent stake in oil refiner HPCL to India’s largest oil producer ONGC. The deal will be completed within a year.
4. Foreign direct investment (FDI)into the country grew by 37 per centto USD 4 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal, DIPP said.
5. Indian actors Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khanand Akshay Kumarare among the top 10 highest paid actors in the world in a list compiled by Forbes. The list is topped by Hollywood action star Mark Wahlberg.
6. The latest version of Androidis official, and it’s called Android Oreo. Google made the interesting decision to reveal the final name and consumer launch details of Android 8.0.
7. Of the 56 regional rural banks (RRBs) in the country, two notched up net profit of over ₹150 crore each during 2016-17. These are among the 49 RRBsthat recorded a profit in 2016-17. The three RRBs promoted by Syndicate Bank — Prathama Bank, Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank, and Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank — improved their net profit over 2015-16 and emerged in the top league of profit-making RRBs during 2016-17.
8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and actress Priyanka Choprahave found a spot in the LinkedIn Power Profiles List of 2017. Professional networking giant LinkedIn announced its fourth edition of Power Profiles, a list of the most viewed LinkedIn profiles of professionals in India

9. DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company has signed on Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank as its bancassurance partner, under which the latter will distribute retail and group life insurance products to its customers across 260 branches in India.
10. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has imposed a penalty of almost 3 crore on Idea Cellular for overcharging subscribers for calls they made to two public sector operators — BSNL and MTNL.
11. The government restricted imports of gold and silver items from South Korea in a bid to check spurt in inbound shipments of precious metals from that country. The importers will now have to obtain a license from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for importing gold and silver from South Korea.
12. Google is extending its successful Google Station program to Indonesia, according to
13. The government has notified the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act. The Act authorises the Reserve Bank of India, RBI to issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process to recover bad loans.
14. Seven Indian companies have made it to the latest Clean200 list, featuring the world’s largest publicly traded companies making significant revenue from clean energy. The Carbon Clean200 report, compiled by non-profit organisation As You Sow and Corporate Knights, was topped by Munich-headquartered Siemens AG, while Greater China had the most representation on the list with 68 companies in the top 200. The seven companies on the list released earlier this month are Suzlon Energy (Rank 55), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Rank 85), Tata Chemicals (Rank 144), Exide Industries (Rank 155), IDFC Ltd (167), Thermax Ltd (Rank 169), and Havells India (Rank 200).
15. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has launched a Central Database of all Insurance Sales Persons in the country. Named `Envoy’, the database will ensure that all licensed insurance sales persons working for insurers and intermediaries
16. HDFC Bank announced a software upgrade to create a single point-of-sale (PoS) machine which will accept payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BharatQR, SMS Pay and the bank’s mobile wallet, in addition to the traditional mode of swiping cards. The bank plans to carry out a software upgrade of its existing base of 4 lakh PoS machines to create what it calls a DigiPoS at no cost to merchants.
17. The Commerce and Industry Ministry released the next edition of its consolidated FDI policy document, incorporating all the changes made over the past year.
18. The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world’s first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters with a hedging tool. The merger of Ahmedabad-based National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) into ICEX was also announced.
19. The Income Tax Department once again warned people against cash dealings of 2 lakh rupees and more, saying any violation of this cap will invite strict penalty under law. In a public message.
20. Twitter launched a new media agency program named “#TweetToTheTop”, dedicated to young media executives. Eleven agencies from global media and advertising networks including Dentsu, GroupM, IPG and Omnicom would participate in the initiative in five nations of Asia Pacific that includes India, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia.
21. Bharti Airtel has entered into a partnership with Symantec Corporation to protect businesses in India from online threats. The partnership comes amid a spike in cyber attacks over the past few months, including ransomwares such as Petya and WannaCry that disrupted systems across the world.
22. Tata Power, through Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC (AGL), its joint venture with Norway’s Clean Energy Invest AS Norway (Clean Energy) and IFC InfraVentures (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, have synchronised its 186 MW Shuakhevi Hydro Power Project (HPP) in
23. State-owned NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank for partially funding its capital expenditure.

APPOINTMENT

1. ShriDharmendra Kumar, IPSappointed as the Director General, Railway Protection Force, Railway Board. Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG.
2. The US-based cab aggregator, Uberhas roped in former American Express executive Vishpala Reddyas the Chief People’s Officer for its India and South Asia operations.
3. Shri N.B. Guptahas been appointed by  of India as Director (Finance), Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC)for a period of five years or date of his superannuation whichever is earlier.
4. Ajay Vipin Nanavatiwas appointed as the chairman of Syndicate Bank. The appointments committee of the cabinet has approved his appointment as non-official director/non-executive chairman of Syndicate Bank for three years.
5. Ashwani Lohaniwill be the new Chairman of Railway Board, the appointment of Mr Lohani, an officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers, IRSME, was cleared by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. He is presently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India.
6. Rajiv Bansal, the Additional Secretary and the Financial Advisorof the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been appointed as the interim CMD of Air India after Ashwani Lohanitook over as the Railway Board Chairman.
7. Former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerslevamwas sworn-in as deputy to current incumbent K Palaniswami, hours after the merger of the two AIADMK factions.
8. Nandan Nilekani, the celebrated technocrat who seeded the idea of a unique identification number for every Indian, has returned to Infosysto restore the lustre of the country’s second-largest software services firm, replacing R Seshasayee, who resigned as chairmanof the board. 
9. Punjab cabinet approved the appointment of woman cricketerand Arjuna Award winner Harmanpreet Kaur as DSP in the state police department.
10. Tata Sonshas appointed Roopa Purushothamanas chief economist and head of policy advocacy. Purushothaman, who will join the group with effect from 1 September, will drive macroeconomic research as well as all policy and advocacy initiatives relevant to the businesses of the Tata group. 
11. Senior diplomat Randhir Kumar Jaiswal was appointed as social secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind.
12. The second Australia Business Week in India (ABWI) arranged by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission from August 28 to September 1 will attract many business leaders.
13. According to Forbes, Jack Ma, the founder of the leading e-commerce giant in China, was worth $37.4 billion, with Tencent (TCEHY) Chairman Ma Huateng now ranked second with a $36.7 billion fortune.
14. Justice Dipak Misra was sworn in as the 45th chief justice of India. He was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at a brief ceremony in the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan.
15. Uber Technologies Inc chose Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive of travel company Expedia Inc, as its chief executive, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, handing him the challenge of leading the ride-services company out of a nearly year-long crisis. He would also have to contend with the legacy of Travis Kalanick, Uber’s pugnacious co-founder, who was ousted as CEO in June.
16. Foreign lender HSBC India’s vice chairman and investment banking head Sunil Sanghai quit the British banking giant and joined hands with the Dinesh Kanabar-promoted tax and regulatory firm Dhruva Advisors to start a merchant banking division.
17. BOOK & AUTHOR
18. Raghuram Rajan pens book on RBI stint in ‘turbulent times’ Raghuram. Rajanis all set to publish a book about his tenure as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)where he explains economic concepts and talks of issues like tolerance and connection between political freedom and prosperity.
19. CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempatilaunched a corporate book on ‘Mann Ki Baat’in Mumbai and said that the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a very high bar on mass outreach initiatives.
20. Former CBI director R K Raghavan, who headed the Special Investigation Team that probed the Gujarat riots, has been appointed as Indian High Commissioner to Cyprus, the Ministry of External Affairs announced.
21. Nachiket Madhusudan Mor was re-appointed as a member of the Eastern local board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).Mor’s appointment is effective fromAugust, 2017, and is for a period of four years. 

AWARD

1. The Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA)announced the Global Agriculture Leadership Awardto Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
2. Hyderabad based startup, Paynear Solutionwas awarded ‘Best Use of Mobile Technology in Financial Services in Asia’at the ‘Eighth CMO Asia Excellence’ awards, which were held in Singapore.
3. Indian American novelistand playwright Padma Viswanathanis the recipient of the 2017 Porter Fund Literary Prize for fiction.
4. Preethi Srinivasan, the former State under-19 cricket captain, who braved a crippling accident to support those suffering from spinal cord injuries like her, was presented with the ‘Kalpana Chawla Awardfor Courage and Daring Enterprise’ award by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami during the 71st Independence Day celebrations at Fort St. George in Chennai. 
5. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikconferred the Biju Patnaik Awardfor Scientific Excellence for 2016 to Prof. Digambar Behera.
6. Rapper Kendrick Lamar has taken six prizes at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. He won best video of the year for Humble, as well as best hip-hop artist, after opening the awards ceremony with a live performance.
7. A trio of scientists Bell who defied Albert Einstein by proving that quantum particles, when correlated in pairs, interact with each other regardless of their distance, will be honoured with the John Stewart Bell Prize from the University of Toronto.
8. National Mission for Clean Ganga under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has awarded for the first time contracts for three STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) under hybrid annuity model. Two STPs of 68 MLD and 14 MLD will be set up at Haridwar and one STP of 15 MLD at Varanasi.
9. A 13-year-old Indian-origin boy Dhruv Garg, from Wokingham in south east England, in the UK has got the highest possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test, placing him in the top one per cent people in the world who achieved this feat.
10. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi will confer national awards to Anganwadi workers for their exceptional achievements under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

1. Dr PinakiPanigrahi, a US-based pediatricianat theUniversity Of Nebraska Medical Center College OfPublic Health has discovered an inexpensive prevention technique against sepsis.
2. British scientistshave developed the world’s smallest surgical robotwhich could transform everyday operationsfor tens of thousands of patients.

SPORTS

1. Teenager ShapathBharadwajwona bronze medalin the double trap event while LakshaySheoran and ManishaKeer combined to win a bronze in the mixed team trap competition at the ISSF Junior Shotgun World Cup in Porpetto, Italy.
2. England’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooneyannounced he is retiring from international footballwith immediate effect after manager Gareth Southgate tried to recall him to the squad. 
3. Australia, playing for the first timeat the rebranded FIBA Asia Cup,became the first Oceanic team to be crowned champions of Asia when they beat Iran in final.Australia, ranked 10th in the world
4. The 32-year-old Ronaldo Portuguese international – who last term helped the Spanish teamto their second successive UEFA Champions Leaguetitle and 12th overall in European football’s premier club competition – received the award at the 2017/18 UEFA Champions’ League group stage draw in Monaco.
5. Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah ended his track career in thrilling fashion with victory in the 5,000m at the Diamond League final.
6. Sri Lankan cricket board has named Chamara Kapugedara as the captain of cricket team for third and fourth ODI matches against India.
7. The ITTF has awarded hosting rights for the event its second most prestigious tournament after the World Championships to Table Tennis England.
8. Saina Nehwal has settled for a bronze medal in the first women’s singles semi-final at World Badminton championships, as she lost to Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.
9. PV Sindhu , the young badminton star has secured a silver medal at the World Badminton Championships. Sindhu was playing against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara.
10. Messi has been La Liga’s all-time leading scorer for a few years now — the previous record was held by Telmo Zarra, with 251 career goals. Messi became the first player in La Liga history to reach the 350 goal mark.
11. India have lifted the SAFF Under-15 football Championship title. The India team, which had players from AIFF’s Regional Academy, trailed by a goal at the interval but Lalrokima and Vikram’s timely strikes saved the day for India.
12. Lewis Hamilton says selecting the wrong power mode actually helped him stay ahead of 2017 Formula 1 world championship rival Sebastian Vettel at the Belgian Grand Prix.
13. Suresh Raina has been named captain of the India Blue team for the Duleep Trophy, which will be held in Kanpur and Lucknow from September 7 to 29, providing him a platform to make a return to the Indian team.

HISTORIC EVENTS OF THE DAY

1. August 22^ndis the 413^thbirthdayof Sri Guru Granth Sahib the eleventh guru of Sikhs is being celebrated with religious fervor and Geity. Devotees are visiting Gurudwaras to pay obedience. 
2. 58th edition of Subroto CupInternational Football Tournament began in Delhi.
3. National Sports day is celebrated on 29th august every year to mark the birthday of Dhyan Chand. To celebrate the day various programs are being conducted through the country.

OBITUARY

1. Former Manipur Chief Ministerand a member of the first Lok SabhaRishang Keishing passed away following brief illness in Imphal.
2. Country’s oldest cinematographer Ramanda Sengupta, who worked with legends like Jean Renoir, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen, died in Kolkata at the age of 101.
3. Tobe Hooper, the horror-movie pioneer whose low-budget sensation “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” took a buzz saw to audiences with its brutally frightful vision, has died. He was 74.
4. Ahmed Khan, a member of India’s gold winning football team at the first Asian Games in 1951, passed away at the age of 91 after prolonged illness.

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