Important Current Affairs 14th August

• Venus May Have Once Been habitable
  • Venus may have been habitable according to a new NASA study.
  • It suggests that the planet had a shallow water ocean & cooler surface temperatures for up to 2 billion years.
  • The findings were obtained with a model similar to the type used to predict future climate change on Earth.
  • Measurements by NASA’s Pioneer mission to Venus in the 1980s first suggested Venus originally may have had an ocean.
• SL & China Sign Tripartite Agreement
  • Sri Lanka & China have signed a tripartite agreement to proceed with the construction of a mega multi billion dollar port city project in capital Colombo.
  • The agreement was signed between SL Urban Development Authority, the Ministry of Megapolis & the China Harbour Engineering Company.
  • The project would transform Sri Lanka into an international financial hub in the Indian Ocean region.
• Chinese Foreign Minister Meets Modi
  • Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met PM Modi in New Delhi.
  • Mr. Wang is visiting India for holding talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on various issues of mutual interest.
  • He also met Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar to review the logistics & security arrangements for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposed visit in Oct to Goa for the BRICS summit.
• Spiritual Guru Pramukh Swami Dies
  • Head of Boachasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), Pramukh Swami Maharaj has passed away.
  • He has large number of followers across the world.
  • Swami Maharaj and his institution- BAPS was remarkable in the field of education, health and other social services.
  • He became the spiritual guru of BAPS in 1971 after Yogiji Maharaj, the fourth spiritual successor of BAPS passed away.
• Lyricist Na Muthukumar Passes Away
  • National Award winning lyricist Na Muthukumar (41) passed away.
  • He won two national awards for the songs Ananda Yazhai Meetukiral in Thanga Meengal and Azhage Azhage inSaivam.
  • He is the only Tamil writer who wrote 103 songs in single year (2012).
  • He has written songs for more than 1000 films.
  • He has also written several novels & poems & has a great fan following among Tamil readers.
• Sonam, Nawazuddin Win Top Awards
  • Bollywood actors Sonam Kapoor & Nawazuddin Siddiqui bagged the best actress & best actor awards at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016.
  • Sonam was awarded for her performance in Neerja & Nawazuddin won for his role of psycho serial killer in Raman Raghav 2.0.
  • Sonam dedicated her award to the Bhanot family.
  • Rishi Kapoor was honoured with the lifetime achievement award.
• Nagaland Govt to Grant 33% Reservation
  • The Nagaland Govt has decided to grant 33% reservation to women in Urban Local Bodies.
  • The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting held in Kohima.
  • Nagaland chief minister T.R. Zeliang announced the decision of the Cabinet.
  • The Cabinet decided go ahead with the elections to the urban local bodies/town councils under Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001 by granting 33 per cent reservation for women.
• Smart Ganga City Programme Launched
  • Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu & Uma Bharti jointly launched ‘Smart Ganga City’ programme in 10 cities.
  • These cities are located along Ganga to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) & improve drainage network.
  • Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna, Sahibganj & Barrackpore are the cities where the programme will be implemented in the first phase.
• Nadda Inaugurates AMRIT Outlet
  • The Union Health Minister, Shri J P Nadda has inaugurated the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) outlet at Safdarjung Hospital.
  • The AMRIT retail outlets will sell drugs at highly discounted rates.
  • Nine AMRIT Pharmacies have been set up and Safdarjung Hospital is the 10th of this kind.
  • The project has been floated in a tie-up with govt-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd (HLL).
• Russia’s Only Track Athlete Banned
  • Athletics world body, the IAAF, has banned long jumper Darya Klishina.
  • She was the only Russian track & field athlete due to compete at the Rio Olympics.
  • She was originally allowed to compete in Rio because she was based in the United States & had regular testing outside Russia.
  • She was due to compete in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.
• Bangladesh Lifts Ashraful Ban
  • Bangladesh’s cricket authorities have partially lifted the ban on former captain Mohammad Ashraful,
  • He would be allowed to play in selected domestic cricket competitions.
  • He would remain ineligible to represent the country in the international cricket until atleast 2018.
  • He had received a 8 year suspension in 2014 after he confessed to helping fix matches.
  • He has featured in 61 Tests & 177 ODIs.
• India Win Third Test Against West Indies
  • Team India has won the St Lucia Cricket Test against the West Indies to clinch the 4-match series, with one game still to go.
  • Indian team took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 4 match series.
  • This is the first time in over six decades that India has won more than one Test match in the Caribbean islands.
  • The fourth & final Test will be played at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain,Trinidad.
• Lalita Qualifies for Steeplechase Final
  • India Lalita Babar has qualified for the women’s 3000m steeplechase final at Rio.
  • She finished fourth in the qualifying heat 2 with a new national record time of 9 min, 19.76 sec.
  • She became the first Indian woman to reach track final in Olympics since PT Usha in 1984.
  • She had won the bronze medal in the event in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, two years ago.
• Axis Bank, Suvidhaa Infoserve Tie Up
  • Axis Bank & payments company Suvidhaa Infoserv have  launched ‘Nano Credit’.
  • It is a pre-approved, instant & unsecured loans for the urban low-income customer.
  • The max loan amount is Rs 15,000 & is available to existing customers of Suvidhaa.
  • It is only for those customers who have been transacting with Suvidhaa for one year.
  • The offering seeks to benefit the unbanked & digitally excluded people.
• M J Akbar to Ring NASDAQ Bell
  • Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar will ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ stock exchange in the heart of the popular Times Square to mark India’s 70th Independence Day.
  • India’s Independence Day has been marked annually at NASDAQ for several years now
  • The NASDAQ exchange is  the second-largest exchange in the world by market capitalisation,behind only the New York Stock Exchange.
• SBI,Korea Development Bank Join Hands
  • Country’s largest public sector lender State bank of India & Korea Development Bank have signed a MoU to enhance business synergies.
  • The agreement was signed between SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya &  chairman and CEO of Korea Development Bank (KDB), Lee Dong Geol.
  • The agreement outlines the plan to enhance cooperation in areas including corporate finance, project finance & asset finance.
• NCML Sign Pact with Syndicate Bank
  • National Collateral Management Services has tied up with Syndicate Bank to provide funding for farmers & traders against their commodities stored at its warehouses.
  • NCML works in partnership with over 60 leading banks & financial institutions in 11,000 warehouses.
  • The objective is to assist industries, traders and farmers in financing their capital requirements at all stages of the supply chain.
• SIB,SBI Card Launch Credit Cards
  • South Indian Bank (SIB) & SBI Card, a credit card issuer has announced their collaboration to launch co-branded credit cards for the customers of South Indian Bank.
  • The card will launch two variants of credit card on VISA platform.
  • It will  be namely SIB Platinum SBI card &  SIB SimplySave SBI card.
  • South Indian Bank Platinum SBI card has been designed keeping in mind the premium customers.
• RBL Bank IPO to Open on Aug 19
  • RBL Bank (the erstwhile Ratnakar Bank) will open its initial public offer (IPO) on August 19.
  • The bank is planning to raise over Rs 1,200 crore.
  • It will be the nation’s first bank IPO since 2010.
  • The shares would be listed on the BSE and the NSE.
  • The aim is to augment its capital base as per Basel III norms besides funding future business growth.
• Govt Notifies Revised Tax Treaty
  • Gov has notified the revised tax treaty with Mauritius.
  • Under the revised tax treaty India will impose capital gains tax on investments routed through Mauritius from April 1.2017 in a bid to curb tax evasion.
  • The protocol amending the agreement b/w India & Mauritius was signed on Aug 24, 1982.
  • The prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income was signed at Mauritius on May10,2016.