DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : August 26, 2019

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National News

PM Modi announced to celebrate September as a month of nutrition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced to celebrate September as a month of nutrition.
In his Mann Ki Baat programme, Mr. Modi laid emphasis on creating awareness to fight malnutrition among children, particularly the girl child.
Gujarat Government launched a pilot project, Poshan Abhiyan which is a state wide mission to eradicate malnutrition among children.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had also launched ‘Purna’ project to eliminate malnutrition among the girls in the age group of 14 to 18.
State Government had allocated Rs. 270 crore for this pilot project.
PURNA project is also known as Prevention of under Nutrition and Reduction of Nutritional Anaemia among Adolescent Girls.
Now, the awareness campaign during the September will further boost the Poshan Abhiyan in the state.

India will have 10,000 CNG stations in next 5 years: Dharmendra Pradhan

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced India will have ten thousand CNG stations in the next five years.
Mr Pradhan suggested auto companies to retrofit vehicles with CNG to boost sales.
On the other hand till 2050, India’s incremental energy needs will be primarily met by CNG.
The Minister expressed, India will aim to lead Electronic Vehicle technology and won’t shift to lithium import dependence.

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa to embark on 3-day visit to Thailand

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa will embark on a three-day visit to Thailand.
During his visit, he will attend the Indo Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in Bangkok.
The conference will provide perspectives on common challenges faced by attending nations and elicit open discussions on the same.
The Chiefs of Defence of over 33 countries are scheduled to attend the Conference.
The participation of Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa, who is also Chairman of Chief of Staff Committee, will provide further impetus towards increasing defence cooperation with Thailand and pave the way for greater interaction and cooperation in future.
The theme for the conference is “Collaboration in a free and Open Indo – Pacific”.
Bilateral defence relations between India and Thailand have gained momentum during the last few years along with overall improvement in relations at political, economic and cultural levels.
Such visits and cooperation will contribute towards India being a natural partner of Thailand for regional collaborative security initiatives.

EC announces by-elections on four seats in UP, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Kerala on Sept 23

Election Commission announced by-elections to one assembly seat each in Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.
The by-polls for Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, Pala in Kerala, Badharghat in Tripura and Hamirpur assembly seat in UP will be held on 23rd of next month.
The by polls for Dantewada, Pala and Badharghat were necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs.
The by-election in Hamirpur was necessitated by the disqualification of the BJP MLA.

Shri Sunil Arora is the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India succeeding Shri O.P.Rawat.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

South Korea begins annual war games to defend against Japan

South Korea began two days of war games to practise defending disputed islands off its east coast against an unlikely attack from Japan, further stoking tensions between the Asian neighbours.
The annual drills come just days after Seoul terminated a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, with the countries at loggerheads over Japan’s use of forced labour during World War II.
The drill re-named “East Sea territory defence training” will solidify the military’s resolve to defend the Dokdo islands and the area surrounding the Sea of Japan.
While a Japanese attack is deemed highly unlikely, South Korea first staged the drills in 1986 and has conducted them twice a year, usually in June and December.
Seoul has controlled the rocky islets in the Sea of Japan since 1945.
Tokyo also claims the islands and accuses South Korea of occupying them illegally.

PM to address sessions at G-7 Summit; to hold bilateral talks with German Chancellor, US Prez on sidelines of Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the President of Senegal Macky Sall and held bilateral talks on the side-lines of the G-7 Summit at Biarritz, France.
Mr Modi will now participate in the Session on Climate, Bio-diversity and Oceans raising India’s concerns on the emerging issues.
The Prime Minister will then meet the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and United States President Donald Trump to discuss bilateral and a gamut of issues of mutual interest.
India is one of the few countries which were extended a special invitation to participate in the summit.
World leaders in the Summit aim to provide a common platform for various issues including climate change, terrorism, inequalities and trade amidst changing scenario in world trade and blocs.
The highlight of the summit is that newly invited countries will have a definite determination to work for furthering peace and stability in the region and also in boosting world economy.

Democratic Republic of Congo announces new govt

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a coalition government was announced, seven months after the inauguration of new President Felix Tshisekedi.
Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga announced the President has signed the decree and the government will begin work soon.
The power-sharing agreement will see 23 members of the executive drawn from Tshisekedi’s Direction for Change and the remaining 42 from former President Joseph Kabila’s Common Front for Congo.
Kabila presided over sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest country for nearly two decades and still commands widespread support.
Mr Tshisekedi emerged victorious in elections that marked the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first peaceful transition of power since the mineral-rich nation gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

DEFENCE NEWS

North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into sea off its east coast

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast.
The South Korean military confirmed the North launched what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s state media announced, a super-large multiple rocket launcher had been tested.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the projectiles were launched from north-eastern South Hamgyong province.
They flew about 380 kilometres at the maximum altitude of 97 kilometres.
In response to the test, the South Korean government called a National Security Council meeting.
This is the seventh such missile test by North Korea since US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at the inter-Korean border in June.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional policy stimulus will boost stability, growth: CII

Industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has announced that the multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional policy stimulus announced last week will have significant impact, imparting stability and underpinning a new growth impetus for India.
The measures announced come at a time when the world economy is buffeted by global headwinds and trade slowdown.
The Industry body further added it expects that the economy will climb up in the coming months.
The government announced a raft of measures, including rollback of enhanced super-rich tax on foreign and domestic equity investors, exemption of start-ups from ‘angel tax’, a package to address distress in the automobile sector and upfront infusion of 70,000 crore rupees to public sector banks, in efforts to boost economic growth.

COMMITTEES & RECOMMENDATIONS

CVC constitutes panel to examine bank fraud

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has constituted Advisory Board for Banking Frauds (ABBF) to examine bank fraud of over 50 crore rupees and recommend action.
The panel in its previous avatar called the Advisory Board on Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds.
The ABBF headed by former Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasin has been formed in consultation with the RBI and it will function as the first level of examination of all large fraud cases before recommendations or references are made to the investigative agencies by the respective Public Sector Banks.
The CVC expressed the four-member board’s jurisdiction will be confined to those cases involving officers of General Manager Level and above in the PSBs in respect of an allegation of a fraud in a borrowal account.
The banks will refer all large fraud cases above 50 crore rupees to ABBF and on receipt of its recommendation, they concerned will take further action in such matter.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA investigating first crime committed in space: report

The US space agency NASA is reported to be investigating a claim that an astronaut accessed the bank account of her estranged spouse from the International Space Station.
This is the first such allegation of a crime committed in space.

Astronaut Anne McClain is accused of identity theft and improperly accessing her estranged spouse’s private financial records while on a sixth-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

The astronaut’s spouse Summer Worden filed a complaint earlier this year with the Federal Trade Commission after learning McClain had accessed her bank account without permission, while Worden’s family filed another with NASA’s Office of Inspector General.

The astronaut had done nothing wrong and accessed the bank records while to monitor the couple’s combined finances something she had done over the course of their relationship.

SPORTS NEWS

PV Sindhu creates history, wins gold medal in BWF World Championships

PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win the BWF World Championships, crushing Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in just 38 minutes in a one-sided final.
With the win, Sindhu now has a full set of medals at World Championships – two bronze medals, two silver medals and a gold medal.
Sindhu’s gold is the second medal that India won at the Worlds this year with Sai Praneeth winning a bronze in men’s singles category.
Sindhu has also won Olympic silver in 2016 Rio Games, silver at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Asian Games silver at Jakarta and the BWF World Tour Finals last year.

India win first test against West Indies by huge margin of 318 runs

India beat West Indies by a massive 318-run margin in the first cricket Test at North Sound in Antigua.
With this win, India has taken 1-0 lead in the 2-match series. Chasing a stiff target of 419 runs, West Indies were all out for just 100 in 26.5 overs in their second innings on the fourth day.
India seamer Jasprit Bumrah took five second-innings wickets for just seven runs.
Earlier, India declared their second innings at 343 for seven, setting the West Indies a 419-run target to win the Test.
Ajinkya Rahane scored 102 and adjudged Man of the Match.

Komalika Bari becomes recurve cadet world champion; India wins 2 gold, 1 bronze

India’s Komalika Bari became recurve cadet world champion at the World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid, Spain.
She defeated higher-ranked Sonoda Waka of Japan 7-3 in the final and earn India’s second gold on the final day of the Championships.
India also won a gold in the compound junior mixed pair event and a bronze in the compound junior men’s team event.
India concluded their campaign with two gold and one bronze medal in their last event.
The 17-year-old Komalika is now India’s second recurve cadet world champion (under-18) after Deepika Kumari who won the title in 2009.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Women’s Equality Day: August 26th

Women’s Equality Day is observed on 26 August every year to commemorate the right of women to vote in U.S and also generated an idea of equality between men and women. It is an annual event in the United States.
This day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which granted the women right to vote.
In 1878 the amendment was first time introduced and in 1971, the U.S. Congress designated 26 August as Women’s Equality Day.
On this day, National Organisation for Women (NOW) called women to demonstrate for equal rights for women and nationwide ‘strike for equality’.