Important Current Affairs 17th August

• Russia Uses Iran as Base to Bomb Syria
  • Russia used Iran for the first time as a base from which to launch air strikes against Syrian militants.
  • Russian Tupolev-22M3 bombers &Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers used Iran’s Hamadan air base to strike targets in Syria.
  • It was the first time Russia has used the territory of another nation.
  • Russia has launched a bombing campaign to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Sept last year.
• Indian Origin Student Develops Drone
  • An Indian-origin student in the United Kingdom has developed a drone that provides communication immediately after the occurrence of a natural disaster.
  • The potentially life-saving system called Exigency, was invented by Luqmaan Patel, a student at Staffordshire.
  • The drone provides such an area with temporary communications.
  • It will facilitates victims to quickly contact family and rescue groups.
• Statue of Sister Nivedita Unveiled
  • In recognition of her great services, a statue was unveiled in her native town in North Ireland.
  • She devoted her life for emancipation of women.
  • She was a Scots-Irish social worker, author, teacher and a disciple of Swami Vivekananda.
  • Sister Nivedita met Swami Vivekananda in 1895 in London and traveled to Kolkata in 1898.
  • Swami Vivekananda gave her the name Nivedita (meaning “Dedicated to God”).
• Pakistan Offers Nuclear Non-Testing Agmt
  • Pakistan has offered India a bilateral arrangement for not conducting a nuclear test.
  • This was announced by the Pakistan Prime Minister Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
  • The two countries have announced unilateral moratoriums on nuclear tests.
  • Unilateral moratoriums are voluntary & legally non-binding.
  • A bilateral arrangement would be legally binding and difficult to withdraw unilaterally.
• Malayalam scriptwriter T A Razzaq Dies
  • Noted Malayalam scriptwriter T A Razzaq passed away.
  • He started his career as a scriptwriter in 1991 for Mohanlal-starred “Vishnulokam”,
  • As a scriptwriter, his notable films include Kanakinavu, Ghazal, Perumazhakalam, Aayirathil Oruvan and Thalolam.
  • He is a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for best story thrice -Kanakkinavu (1996), Aayirathil Oruvan (2002) & Perumazhakalam (2004).
• Govt Allows e- KYC for Mobile Connection
  • The govt has  issued e-KYC guidelines to make the online process of validation  & activation new mobile connections faster.
  • The move is intended to cut down time for SIM activation as KYC is verified instantly.
  • In e-KYC, a customer through her Aadhaar number will online authorise UIDAI to provide demographic details to the mobile operator.
  • Earlier, the entire verification process lasted 8-10 hours
• First Speaker of Delhi Assembly Dies
  • Charti Lal Goel, the first Speaker of Delhi Assembly and father of Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel has passed way.
  • He was one of the founding members of Bharatiya Jan Sangh.
  • He became the first Speaker of Delhi Assembly in 1993& continued in the post till 1998.
  • He has also served as the deputy mayor of Delhi and was among the political leaders imprisoned during the Emergency in 1975.
• Noted Punjabi Writer Gurdial Singh Dies
  • World famous prominent Punjabi writer, novelist and short story writer Gurdial Singh passed away.
  • The award-winning Punjabi film, ‘Anne Ghore Da Daan’ (Alms of the Blind Horse), was also based on his Punjabi novel .
  • He rose to popularity with the publication of his novel ‘Marhi Da Deeva’ in 1964.
  • He was the recipient of honours such as Padma Shri, Jnanpith Award & Sahitya Akademi Award.
• Maha Relaunches Majhi Kanya Bhagyashri
  • Maharashtra government has relaunched its “Majhi Kanya Bhagyashri”.
  • The objective of scheme is to improve the skewed girl child ratio in Maharashtra.
  • This re launched move is an amalgamation of “Sukanya” scheme and the Centre’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” scheme introduced last year.
  • The government intends to take the scheme to the village level through massive public awareness programme.
• Thiago da Silva Wins Gold in Pole Vault
  • Brazil’s Thiago Braz da Silva set an Olympic record of 6.03m to win a gold in the men’s pole vault in Rio.
  • He failed in his first attempt at 6.03m but went clear with his second to win Brazil’s second gold of the Games.
  • He gave the host country its first athletics gold medal of the Games.
  • France Lauvillenie took silver & American Sam Kendricks sealed bronze with 5.85m.
• Andy Murray Wins Tennis Gold
  • Andy Murray of Great Britain has won the gold medal in men’s singles tennis category in Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
  • He defeated Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the final.
  • With the win, he retained the medal and became the first player to win two men’s singles tennis gold medals in Olympics.
  • Del Potro had defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the first round.
• PV Sindhu Stuns World No.2 Wang Yihan
  • India’s PV Sindhu defeated world number two Wang Yihan of China to enter the semi-finals of the Rio 2016 Olympics.
  • She won in straight sets 22-20, 21-19 in the badminton women’s singles quarter-finals.
  • She is now a win away from assuring India a medal.
  • She became only the second Indian women’s player to reach the semi-final of Olympic.
  • Saina Nehwal had reached the same stage at the 2012 Games.
• Former FIFA President Havelange Dies
  • Former Fifa president Joao Havelange has passed away.
  • Havelange ,the Brazilian was predecessor to Sepp Blatter at world football’s governing body, serving from 1974 to 1998.
  • He was an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from 1963 until 2011.
  • As Fifa president he led the World Cup’s expansion from 16 to 32 teams, with six competitions held under his tenure.
• SBH Opens Platinum Branch
  • State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) has opened its ‘Platinum’ branch at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad to cater exclusively to the NRI & HNI clients.
  • The branch is fully mechanised with Wi-Fi facility, mobile& internet banking.
  • It has dedicated relationship executives to offer a range of services including forex, services, conference facility for business meetings.
  • The branch will work 7 days a week.
• GoAir Gets Nod to Fly to 9 Nations
  • Mumbai-based carrier GoAir has got the government’s nod to fly to nine countries beginning next March.
  • It would make it the fifth Indian airline to fly abroad.
  • The airline has been granted rights to operate to Iran, China, Vietnam, Maldives, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Qatar & Saudi Arabia.
  • The no-frills carrier Go Air has launched domestic operations in November 2005.
• BBB Should Appoint Executives at Banks
  • Outgoing RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has stressed the need to improve governance at public sector banks.
  • He said the task of appointing top executives should be left to the Bank Board Bureau (BBB).
  • At present, the Centre appoints the top executives.
  • His suggestion is in line with the proposals of the P.J. Nayak committee set up by the RBI to look into the issue of governance in Indian banks.
• S&P ,BSE Liquid Rate Index Launched
  • Asia Index, a joint venture between S&P Dow Jones Indices & BSE has launched a new index to measure the performance of Collateralised Borrowing & Lending Obligation (CBLO) rate.
  • The index is designed to measure the returns from a daily rolling deposit at the CBLO rate.
  • CBLO facilitates borrowing and lending for various tenors from overnight up to a maximum of one year.
• Tata Power Solar Comm 100 mw Project
  • Tata Power Solar has commissioned a 100 mw solar project for NTPC in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh,
  • It is the biggest solar project commissioned using domestically manufactured solar cells and modules.
  • The plant is expected to generate nearly 160 million units of energy per year
  • It will help offset approximately 110,000 tonnes of CO2 in the first year.
• Hike Messaging App Raises $175 million
  • Hike, a messaging app has raised $175 million in a round led by China’s Tencent and Foxconn,
  • Its existing investors SoftBank Group, Bharti Enterprises&  Tiger Global also participated in the fourth round.
  • It has so far raised $250 million overall in four rounds of investment.
  • Hike messaging platform has 100 million users in India.
  • Its biggest competitor in India is Facebook Inc owned WhatsApp.
• Bihar Becomes 2nd State to Ratify GST
  • The Bihar state Legislature has unanimously ratified the constitution amendment bill on Goods and Services Tax, GST.
  • The bill was moved by the commercial taxes minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav.
  • After passage of the bill by the state legislature, Bihar now became the second state to ratify the GST.
  • The Bill needs to be ratified by 16 of the 31 state assemblies to become law.