Important Current Affairs 19th August

• Melbourne Wins Most Liveable City Award
  • Melbourne has been named as  world’s most liveable city for the sixth year running according the Economist’s global liveability survey.
  • Melbourne followed by Vienna, Vancouver & Toronto. Adelaide & Calgary in Canada tied for fifth place.
  • Ranking is determined by score across five broad categories of stability , healthcare , culture and environment , education & infrastructure .
• China Set to Open Longest Glass Bridge
  • The world’s longest & highest glass bottom bridge is set to open soon in China.
  • It connects two mountain cliffs known as the Avatar mountains in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province.
  • The bridge is designed by architect Haim Dotan & is 430 metres long, six metres wide and nearly 300 metres above the bottom of the canyon.
  • The bridge will be able to hold up to 800 people at a time.
• Zambian President Lungu Re-elected
  • Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu has been re-elected.
  • Mr Lungu had secured 50.35% vote, just over the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second round under a new electoral system.
  • His main rival, Hakainde Hichilema who alleges electoral fraud won 47.67%.
  • Mr Lungu defeated Mr Hichilema, by less than 200,000 votes.
  • He served in Mr Sata’s government as minister for justice & defence
• Odia Filmmaker, Actor Govind Tej Dies
  • Noted Odia filmmaker,actor & director Govind Tej passed away.
  • He started his career as an Actor in films Kedar Gouri in 1954.
  • He was conferred with Jaydev Samman- the highest award by the state government in the field of films in 1986.
  • He received Odisha State Film Awards for best director for movies like Kaberi, School Master,Tunda Baida & Gare Sindura Dhare Luha.
• Sunita Jain Conferred Vyas Samman
  • Hindi scholar and writer Sunita Jain was awarded the prestigious 25th Vyas Samman 2015 for her poetry collection “Kshama”.
  • West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi conferred the award on the scholar.
  • The award instituted by the K K Birla Foundation carries a cash prize of Rs 2.50 lakh.
  • It is given annually to outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen.
• Ranthambore tigress ‘Machhli’ Dies
  • Legendary Ranthambore tigress ‘Machhli’ has died.
  • Codenamed T-16 & also referred to as the Queen of Ranthambore
  • Machhli was probably the world’s most photographed tigress.
  • She was named Machhli  because of the marks on her face that resemble a fish.
  • She had contributed more than $10 million a year to the economy of Ranthambore over the last 10 years.
• Govt to Buy C-130 J Super Hercules
  • The Defence Ministry has approved the buying of one C-130 J Super Hercules aircraft, worth about Rs. 900 crore.
  • It will replace the one that had crashed in 2014.
  • The decision to purchase a new one was taken by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
  • The IAF had inducted six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft which were bought from the US in 2010.
• IIT Kharagpur Presents Excellence Award
  • The IIT,Kharagpur presented the Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology award to ISRO scientist M. Jeen Britto.
  • He was awarded  for his exemplary innovation in the field of Cryogenics Instrumentation & Automation.
  • The award was handed during the premier institute’s 66th foundation day celebration.
  • Distinguished professor Krishnendu Chakrabarty, was presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2014.
• Usain Bolt Wins 200m Gold
  • Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the men’s 200m to claim his second Rio 2016 gold.
  • He has already won the 100m in Rio.
  • He has now won a staggering 19 Olympic & world titles.
  • He ran 19.78 seconds to come home ahead of Canada’s Andre de Grasse and France’s Christophe Lemaitre.
  • Britain’s Adam Gemili clocked the same time as Lemaitre but was denied his first Olympic medal in a photo finish.
• Ashwin Retain Second Spot in ICC Ranking
  • India’s offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin has retained his second position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test bowlers’ rankings.
  • The bowlers’ list is headed by England’s James Anderson, who leads Ashwin by 12 points with 870 points.
  • Dale Steyn is third,17 points behind the India off-spinner.
  • Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has returned among the top five of the Test bowlers.
• Sehwag Becomes MCC Honorary Life Member
  • Virender Sehwag, former India batsman, has been awarded the honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club.
  • The membership is extended by MCC Committee to acknowledge the contributions of players to the game.
  • There are over 18,000 full members and 300 honorary lifetime members.
  • Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club in London, founded in 1787.
• Narsingh Banned for 4 years
  • Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav has been handed a four-year-ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
  • The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had appealed against the NADA all-clear to Narsingh at CAS.
  • The CAS Panel did not accept the argument of the athlete that he was the victim of sabotage.
  • This ruling marks the end of Narsingh Yadav’s attempt at competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
• Sindhu Enter Badminton Final at Olympics
  • PV Sindhu has scripted history by becoming the first Indian Badminton player to enter the Final at the Olympics.
  • Her win assures at least a Silver medal for the country in the sport.
  • She registered a 21-19, 21-10 victory over higher placed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to seal a place in the Rio Games Gold medal match.
  • She will play for the Gold against world number one Carolina Marin of Spain.
• India Inks Deal with Bangladesh
  • India signed a short-term route agreement with Bangladesh to allow transport of petroleum goods from Assam to Tripura through Bangladesh.
  • The agreement was signed after heavy monsoon damaged roads and made the transportation between the two states difficult.
  • Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) & the Roads and Highways Department of the Government of Bangladesh (RHD) signed the deal.
• Govt Unveils Portal for Rating of Mines
  • Ministry of Mines has launched Web Portal for Star Rating of Major Mineral Mines.
  • The Portal was launched by the Minister of State for Mines, Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal .
  • The Scheme of Star Rating will be a vital step for ensuring compliance of environmental protection & social responsibility .
  • Govt has given a deadline for Star Rating of all mines by 31st of Dec 2016.
• India Post Payment Bank to Start in 2017
  • India Post Payments Bank has received the certificate of incorporation from the Registrar of Companies.
  • It would pave the way for the postal department’s bank to begin operations in 2017 as announced.
  • This will be the first public sector undertaking under the Department of Posts.
  • The new bank is expected to commence operations by March 2017.
• Federal Bank, Chillr Tie Up
  • Federal Bank has announced its partnership with Chillr, a mobile banking application, to provide cashless transactions.
  • Chillr is the India’s first and only multi-bank mobile application.
  • It allows users to connect seamlessly with multiple bank accounts and manage all their banking needs on a single platform
  • The facility is already available to all customers of Federal Bank.
• ICICI Bank Introduce ‘iMobile SmartKeys’
  • ICICI Bank has unveiled a payment service dubbed as iMobile SmartKeys that uses smartphone keyboard to make quick & secure payments.
  • The service allows users to transfer money to their registered beneficiaries, pay their utility bills as well as recharge their mobile numbers.
  • This will enable users to make payments without having to exit the current application and launching another tab.
• Moody’s Retains India’s GDP Forecast
  • Moody’s Investors Service has retained India’s growth forecast at 7.5% for 2016.
  • It has revised upwards estimates for China to 6.6 % citing strong fiscal and monetary support.
  • It said emerging markets have stabilised on account of the modest recovery in commodity prices.
  • China growth would have minimal impact on its forecasts for the rest of the world as imports to China continue to fall.
• SBI Board Approves Merger of 5 Associate
  • SBI board has approved merger of its five associate banks & BMB.
  • The board of directors approved the merger of State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore & Bharatiya Mahila Bank(BMB).
  • Merger aims to create a global-sized bank with assets worth over Rs 37 lakh crore.
  • The board also finalised the share swap ratio for three of the listed subsidiaries & BMB.