Important Current Affairs 5th August

• China’s Jade Rabbit Moon Rover Dead
• China’s Jade Rabbit lunar rover has bid its final farewell and shut down after 31 months exploring the Moon.
• Jade Rabbit arrived on the Moon in December 2013 in the Chang’e-3 space mission.
• The rover has lived a good long life, gathering data for almost three years, much longer than its three month nominal mission.
• It made China the third country to reach the Moon after Russia and the US.
• US Blocks $300 m Military Aid to Pak
  • The US has blocked $300 million military aid to Pakistan.
  • The decision comes after US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter declined to give a certification to the Congress that Pakistan is taking sufficient action against the dreaded Haqqani network.
  • In the absence of Congressional certification, the Pentagon has blocked disbursement of $300 million to Pakistan under Coalition Support Fund.
• Egyptian Nobel Laureate Zewail Dies
  • Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian-American scientist Ahmed Zewail passed away.
  • He was born in Damanhour city of Egypt, Zewail & won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999 for his pioneering work in femtochemistry.
  • He was author of some 600 scientific articles and 16 books.
  • He also is credited with developing a new research field dubbed four-dimensional electron microscopy.
• Pramila Sweeps Washington Open Primary
  • Indian-American Pramila Jayapal has swept an open Congressional primary in Washington State.
  • She could make history as the first woman from the community to enter the U.S Congress if she wins the US November general election.
  • Washington has a ‘top-two primary’ system i.e, all candidates run & the top two candidates in the primaryregardless of party affiliation move on to the general election.
• Telangana To Tie Up With ISRO
  • Telangana state irrigation department will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Space Research Organisation.
  • The MoU will be sign  for setting up Telangana Water Resources Information System (TWRIS).
  • The system will keep eye from sky on state’s water resources.
  • ISRO will update the system with new satellite imagery of all water bodies every fortnight.
• Singer Shubha to Get RG Sadbhavana Award
  • Singer Shubha Mudgal will be awarded the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award.
  • She will get Award for her outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.
  • She is a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical music.
  • The Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award is given on the occasion of the birthday of Rajiv Gandhi.
• Govt to Electrify all Villages by 2016
  • The Centre has said all the villages in the country will be electrified during the current year except few villages in naxal affected area.
  • Power Minister Piyush Goyal said,out of 18,452 un-electrified villages in the country, out of which, 9,326 villages have been electrified during last 15 months.
  • He said electrification of the villages is a time bound programme.
• L-G is Administrative Head of NCT : HC
  • The Delhi High Court has held that the Lt. Governor is the administrative head of the National Capital Territory.
  • The court said the AAP govt’s contention that the LG is bound to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers is without any substance.
  • The High Court dismissed the AAP Government’s plea challenging the Centre’s notification giving absolute powers to LG in appointing bureaucrats.
• Cabinet Approves Signing of ASA with Lao
  • The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of new Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India & Lao.
  • It will provide enabling environment for enhanced & seamless connectivity.
  • Under the agreement, the designated airlines of the two countries shall have fair & equal opportunity to operate the agreed services on specified routes.
  • ASA is the basic legal framework for any air operation.
• Gujarat HC Quashes 10% Quota for EBCs
  • Gujarat high court has quashed the state govt’s notification granting 10% reservation for the economically backward classes -EBCs.
  • The Court termed this notification as unconstitutional, which was issued by state govt.
  • The state govt has granted 10% quota for EBCs in higher educational institutions & govt jobs.
  • The state govt’s decision was challenged in the Gujarat high court by a social worker.
• Rio Gets Ready for Olympics Games
  • With just a few hours left for the 31st Summer Olympics to begin with the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janiero.
  • Nearly 11,000 athletes from 205 countries will take part in 17-day extravaganza featuring 306 events in 42 sport disciplines.
  • India is fielding its biggest contingent with almost 120 athletes.
  • Indian have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920.
• IOC Adds Five New Sports for Tokyo 2020
  • The International Olympic Committee has added five new sports to the programme for Tokyo 2020.
  • It included baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sports climbing & surfing.
  • The inclusion of the new sports will add 18 events & 474 athletes,
  • The IOC considered a variety of factors when assessing the proposal, including the impact on gender equality & the youth appeal of the sports.
• Sourav Ganguly Picks His all-Time XI
  • Former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly has revealed his all-time XI.
  • Ganguly opted to go with the opening pairing of Matthew Hayden & Alastair Cook.
  • Rahul Dravid & Sachin Tendulkar come in next in the line-up.
  • Jacques Kallis come in at 5 followed by Kumar Sangakara.
  • Ricky Ponting was named the captain of the side at no.7, followed by Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan & Dale Steyn.
• Nita Ambani Elected as IOC Member
  • Noted sports promoter & founder chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani was elected as an individual member of International Olympic Committee.
  • She becomes the first Indian woman to join the prestigious body which governs Olympic sports.
  • She was elected by IOC members at the 129th Session of the world body.
  • She is the only current active individual member of the IOC from India.
• RBI Set up Committee on Household Fin
  • The RBI has set up a committee to look at the various facets of household finance in India.
  • The Committee will be chaired by Tarun Ramadorai, Professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford.
  • It will have representation from other financial sector regulators.
  • The committee will benchmark the current depth of household financial markets in India vis-a-vis those in other major world.
• Centre Aims to Roll Out GST from April 1
  • The Govt has set the target of 1st April next year for roll out of the Goods & Services Tax, GST.
  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has unveiled a detailed road map for GST implementation.
  • Once implemented, the GST will subsume various taxes including excise, services tax, octroi & other levies.
  • The proceeds will be shared between the Centre & states
  • The Bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha recently.
• 4 PIOs Among US’ Top Wealth Advisors
  • Four persons of Indian-origin have been named among America’s top wealth advisors by Forbes on a list of 200 members.
  • Raj Sharma and Ash Chopra, both of whom work in Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking & Investment Group, have been ranked 17th and 129.
  • Sonny Kothari of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has been ranked 176.
  • Raju Pathak of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is placed at 184th rank.
• RBI Ease Norms in Cheque Dishonour Cases
  • The RBI has relaxed cheque-book norms leaving it to the lender’s discretion on whether to issue fresh cheque-books or not in cases of dishonour of 1 cr rupees & above.
  • As per the existing directive, banks are not allowed to issue fresh cheque books in the event of cheque dishonour valuing 1 cr rupees & above.
  • Also, in such cases the bank may consider closing the current account at its discretion.
• BoE Cuts Rates for First Time Since 2009
  • The Bank of England has cut interest rates for the first time since 2009.
  • It cut its main lending rate to a record low 0.25% from 0.5%, in line with market expectations.
  • It also launched two new schemes, one to buy 10 billion pounds of high-grade corporate bonds.
  • The central bank said it expected the economy to stagnate for the rest of 2016 & suffer weak growth throughout next year.
• RBI Launches ‘Sachet’ Portal
  • The RBI has launched a portal known as Sachet to curb illegal collection of money by companies.
  • The Sachet website will enable public to obtain information regarding entities who accept deposits & lodge complaints.
  • One can also share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits,
  • The website would also help enhance coordination among regulators and state government agencies.