Important Current Affairs 13th August

• Puerto Rico Declares State of Emergency
  • The US government has  declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico as a result of a Zika epidemic.
  • The declaration allows the US Department of Health & Human Services to award grants.
  • The announcement came hours after Puerto Rico reported 1,914 new cases in the past week.
  • Zika has been tied to a severe birth defect known as microcephaly.
• Russian President Sacks Chief of Staff
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed his close ally and powerful chief of staff Sergei Ivanov
  • He has now been made a special representative for environmental &  transport issues.
  • He was appointed Kremlin chief of staff in late 2011.
  • Anton Vaino has been appointed as his successor.
  • The change comes just over a month before nationwide parliamentary elections.
• Russia Deploys S-400 Missile System
  • Russia has deployed its advanced S-400 air defence missile system to annexed Crimea.
  • Moscow also announced exercises in Crimea next week to simulate an attack by weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
  • The announcement comes after clashes between Russian forces & Ukrainian saboteurs in northern Crimea.
  • Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
• Encephalitis to Made Notifiable Disease
  • The government has announced that the dreaded vector-borne disease Encephalitis will be made a notifiable disease.
  • Encephalitis claims hundres of lives in the eastern part of the country every year.
  • A notifiable disease is required by law to be reported to authorities.
  • The spread of information allows authorities to monitor the disease and provide early warning of possible outbreaks.
• Conf. of Investigating Agencies Started
  • The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the first National Conference of investigating agencies in New Delhi.
  • The two-day conference is being organised by the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) in coordination with National Investigation Agency.
  • The conference aims to discuss how to improve coordination & quality of investigations being done by various agencies.
• Gadkari Lays Foundation of New Terminal
  • Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has laid the foundation stone for a multi-modal terminal at Varanasi.
  • He also flags off the trial run of two vessels carrying Maruti Suzuki cars & construction material, as a part of National Waterway-1 development.
  • The terminal is part of Rs 4,200-crore Jal Marg Vikas project to enable commercial navigation of vessels on river Ganga from Varanasi to Haldia.
• SC Lifts Ban on 2000cc Diesel Cars
  • Supreme Court has lifted its order on banning registration of diesel-run SUVs & high-end cars with engine capacity of 2000 CC & above in Delhi & NCR.
  • Manufacturers will have to pay 1% green cess to the government.
  • The apex court had on Dec 16 last year banned registration of diesel-run sports utility vehicles till March 31.
  • Later, the ban on registration was extended till further orders.
• Bharat Parv’ Inaugurated by Parrikar
  • Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated a week-long cultural extravaganza, Bharat Parv, at the Rajpath Lawns.
  • Bharat Parv is being organized as part of Independence Day celebrations.
  • The prime objective of organizing the event is to generate a patriotic mood& promote the rich cultural diversity.
  • It will include performances by the Armed Forces Bands ,crafts mela &  cultural performances.
• Manjula Named new CJ of Bombay HC
  • Manjula Chellur, chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, has been appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court with effect from August 24.
  • She will be only second woman Chief Justice of the Bombay HC,after Sujata Manohar in 1994.
  • Her appointment follows retirement of D H Waghela as Chief Justice of the Bombay HC on August 10.
  • Waghela held the post for a brief six months.
• Nadal & Lopez Win Gold in Men’s Doubles
  • Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez of Spain won the Olympic men’s doubles tennis title.
  • The pair defeated Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau 6-2 3-6 6-4 to won gold medal at Rio Games.
  • Nadal & Lopez claimed Spain’s fifth overall medal.
  • American duo Steve Johnson and Jack Sock beat Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil to clinch bronze.
• Chinese Chen Xinyi Fails Doping Test
  • China’s Chen Xinyi has become the first swimmer to fail a doping test at the Rio Olympics.
  • Chen Xinyi tested positive on August 7 for hydrochlorothiazide, a banned substance.
  • She has already competed in the 100-meter butterfly event & placed fourth in the final.
  • She rose to fame at the National Games in 2013.
  • She won gold at the women’s 100-meter butterfly at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
• Ayana Shatters 10,000 World Record
  • Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana smashed the World record by running 29:17.46 to win the 10,000 metres title at Rio
  • Her time was 14 seconds inside the 29:31.78 set by China’s Wang Junxia in 1993.
  • It was the first time in 7 years that a female athlete had run 10,000m in under 30 min.
  • Kenya’s  Vivian Cheruiyot had to settle for silver while Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba grabbed bronze.
• Dipika Pallikal Wins PSA Australian Open
  • India’s top squash player Dipika Pallikal has won the PSA Australian Open in Melbourne,
  • Top seed Pallikal beat eighth seed Mayar Hany of Egypt 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 in the 40-minute final for her first title of the year.
  • Her previous title came in February 2015 when she won the Winnipeg Winter Open in Canada.
  • The win comes days before the start of World Doubles.
• Sriram Appointed MD of Microsoft Lab
  • Microsoft has announced the appointment of Sriram Rajamani as new managing director of its India lab.
  • He will responsible for research, innovation & collaboration with the scientific community.
  • Prior to joining the India lab, he headed the Software Productivity Tools group within Microsoft.
  • He will replace Chandu Thekkath, who was the managing director of the lab for two years.
• Govt Nod to Upgrade Tech for Power Plant
  • Govt has approved Rs 1,554 cr R&D project to develop advanced ultra super critical (AUSC) technology for thermal power plants.
  • A consortium of three govt entities — Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Indira Gandhi Centre of Atomic Research (IGCAR) & NTPC have proposed a R&D project for development of AUSC tech.
  • The tech will help in reduced coal consumption as well as Carbon Di-Oxide emission.
• Nasscom Begins Startup Warehouse
  • The apex IT industry body Nasscom has launched operations of its startup warehouse at Sunrise Startup Village at Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam,
  • This is the first Nasscom Startup Warehouse in AP & the 9th under its 10,000 startup initiative by 2020.
  • The warehouse would provide affordable co-working space with incubation for 6 months.
  • The initiative nurtures startups to get proper mentoring.
• Retail Inflation Tops 6%
  • Retail inflation rose to a nearly 2 year high of 6.07 per cent in July this year.
  • Rural India recorded a higher retail inflation at 6.7% as against 5.4% in urban areas.
  • Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index had stood at 5.77% in June this year & 3.69% in July last year.
  • The govt has retained the inflation target of 4% (plus/minus 2%) for the next five years.
• SBI Group Q1 Net Dips 78%
  • SBI group has reported 78% plunge in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,046 crore in April-June.
  • SBI Chairman Bhattacharya attributed the lower numbers to the massive provisioning the five subsidiary banks have done
  • Total income during the 3 month period rose to Rs 69,415 cr against Rs 63,164.5 cr in April-June, 2015-16.
  • On a standalone basis, net profit of the SBI declined 32% to Rs 2,521 crore.
• N-Suppliers Insurance Policy Launched
  • The country’s first Nuclear Suppliers’ insurance policy was unveiled by India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP).
  • The policy was unveiled by Atomic Energy Commission chairman Sekhar Basu in Mumbai.
  • New India Assurance Co & INIP will issue the policy & administer the claims.
  • The pool provides capacity for insurance coverage to operators & suppliers for any nuclear liability towards third party.
• Assam Becomes 1st to Ratify GST Bill
  • Assam has become the first state in the country to ratify the constitution amendment bill on the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
  • The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill for GST was passed by the parliament.
  • The GST constitution amendment Bill needs to be ratified by at least 16 of the 31 state assemblies.
  • The new regime seeks to subsume all central indirect levies.