Important Current Affairs 9th August

• First-ever ‘Pizza ATM’ Opens in US
  • First-ever ‘pizza ATM’ in the USA has been installed at a university campus.
  • The pizza vending machine on the campus of Xavier University (XU) in Ohio can hold seventy 12-inch pizzas & dispense them fresh & hot in just three minutes.
  • French-based company Paline has  developed the ATM.
  • The cost of each pizza is around USD 10 &the ATM accepting credit & debit cards.
• Int Day of the World Indigenous Peoples
  • The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is observed on August 9 each year.
  • It aims to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.
  • On December 23, 1994, the UN General Assembly decided that the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People should be observed on August 9.
  • This year’s theme is devoted to the right to education.
• 1st Wi-Fi Hotspot in Arunachal Launched
  • Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu has launched the first free wi-fi hotspot in the state at a government college.
  • This pilot project has been launched in Dera Natung Govt College to bring internet closer to the students.
  • The govt has plans to make the twin towns of Itanagar & Naharlagun a free wi-fi zone.
  • The state govt would also in the future try to connect the villages with internet facility.
• PM Modi Launch Yaad Karo Kurbani Celeb
  • PM Modi has kick started the Yaad Karo Kurbani celebrations at the birthplace of freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad at Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh.
  • The celebrations were launch to mark 70 years of Independence.
  • All the Union Ministers will visit 150 places all over the country associated with Indian freedom movement.
  • Rajnath Singh will visit the birthplace of Birsa Munda in Jharkhand.
• Prez Nod for Uniform Admission Test
  • There will be single test-National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam (NEET) for admissions to medical & dental courses across the country.
  • President Pranab Mukherjee has given nod to two bills recently passed by Parliament in this regard.
  • He has given assent to Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill 2016 & Dentists Amendment Bill 2016.
  • These Bills aims to stop exploitation of students in counselling.
• PM Modi Launches Mission Bhagiratha
  • PM Modi has launched phase-1 of ‘Mission Bhagiratha’.
  • It is a flagship project of Telangana government aimed at providing piped drinking water to every household in the state.
  • This is the Prime Minister’s maiden visit to Telangana after formation of the state in June 2014.
  • PM also laid the foundation stone for the Rs. 10,599-crore 1600 MW NTPC super thermal power plant to come up in Ramagundam.
• RS Passes Bill Decriminalising Suicide
  • Rajya Sabha has passed the Mental Health Care Bill, which decriminalises attempt to suicide.
  • The bill also provides for medical care for those making such attempts.
  • At present, attempt to suicide is a criminal offence under Section-309 of IPC.
  • Health minister J P Nadda termed the bill as humane & progressive.
  • He said 6-7% of the country’s population had some kind of mental illnesses.
• Yoga Guru TKV Desikachar Passes Away
  • Yoga master T. K. V. Desikachar, son of legendary Indian yoga master T. Krishnamacharya, passed away.
  • He is the son & student of T Krishnamacharya, popularly known as ‘the father of modern yoga’.
  • TKV Desikachar quit his job as an engineer and embarked on a journey in yoga.
  • In 1976 he founded Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram which revolutionised the yoga practice.
• Qingquan Smashes 16 yr-old World Record
  • Long Qingquan from China has won a gold medal in men’s 56 kg weightlifting after he lifted a staggering total of 307 kg during his last attempt at Rio.
  • He previously won gold at the Beijing Games in 2008.
  • He took first prize from Om Yun-Chol of North Korea, who lifted 303 kg.
  • The Chinese weightlifter has broken a record that had previously stood for 16 years dating back to the 2000 Sydney Games.
• Manchester United to Re-sign Pogba
  • Manchester United has made Paul Pogba the world’s most expensive footballer, signing the France midfielder for around 105 million euros ($116 million).
  • United will pay the Italian champions 105m euros for Pogba, plus 5m euros (£4.5m) in performance-related bonuses.
  • It surpasses Wales forward Gareth Bale’s £85m move to Real Madrid from Spurs in 2013 as the biggest transfer deal in history.
• Australian Surfing Champ Bernard Dies
  • Australian surfing champion Bernard Farrelly,best known as Midget has passed away.
  • He won the first official surfing world championship at Sydney’s Manly Beach in 1964,
  • He dominated the sport as it gained popularity during that decade.
  • He was the first Australian to win a major surfing title in the 1963 Hawaiian championship.
  • He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
• Anderson Tops ICC Test Bowler Rankings
  • James Anderson of England has reclaimed the No.1 spot from Ravichandran Ashwin in the latest International Cricket Council Test rankings for bowlers.
  • He sits at top of the rankings with 881 points while Ashwin has 869 points to his name.
  • Anderson has been an integral part of the England setup,having picked up 462 wickets.
  • Among the batsmen,Australia Steve Smith remains at the top of the rankings.
• Abhinav Bindra Misses Medal
  • Star Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra missed a medal in the final of the men’s 10m Air Rifle event at Rio Olympics.
  • He qualified for the final of the event finishing seventh in the qualifying round.
  • In the shootout, Bindra shot a 10 while Kulish got a score of 10.5 which made the Ukrainian enter the medal rounds.
  • Gagan Narang, however crashed out finishing at a lowly 23rd position in the qualifiers.
• RBI Keeps Policy Rate Unchanged
  • The RBI has kept the policy rate unchanged at 6.5% in the third bi-monthly policy review.
  • This is Governor Raghuram Rajan’s last monetary policy statement of his current term.
  • The RBI keeps the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4% .
  • The reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged at 6%.
  • Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial bank.
• Syndicate Bank Launches New Products
  • Syndicate Bank has launched new products to ease customer transactions.
  • Arun Shrivastava, MD & CEO,Syndicate Bank has launched fund transfer based on Aadhaar Number through NUUP.
  • National Unified USSD platform(NUUP) will transfer using an ordinary mobile phone without internet connection.
  • The bank also launched Fund Transfer through IMPS at any branch for instantaneous credit to any bank account.
• DST Launch Programme to Support Startups
  • The Department of Science & Technology has launched a Rs 100-crore programme to support startups.
  • The programme is called National Initiative for Developing & Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) .
  • It is aimed at helping startups across the country in terms of both funding and incubation support.
  • A number of schemes will be taken up under NIDHI, including NIDHI Prayas.
• Spectrum Auction to Start on 29 Sept
  • Bidding rounds for the country’s biggest-ever spectrum auction will begin from 29th of next month.
  • In these auction mobile airwaves worth 5.63 lakh crore rupees at the base price value will be put up for sale.
  • It includes about 197 Mhz of frequencies in 1800 Mhz band & 37.5 Mhz in 800 Mhz band.
  • The govt expects to raise at least 64,000 cr rupees from the auction of about 2,354.55 Mhz of spectrum.
• Ponzi Schemes Not Under Our Purview:SEBI
  • The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has told the Supreme Court that banned Ponzi schemes do not fall under its regulatory purview.
  • It has said only the state govts concerned can control them.
  • It also said banned activities cannot be regulated by any regulator, except to stop the same if made aware of it.
  • A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return.
• LS Unanimously Passes GST Amendment Bill
  • Parliament has passed 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill with Lok Sabha approving the amendments made by the Rajya Sabha.
  • The bill was passed by 443 votes in favour and none voting against.
  • The bill will pave the way for the roll out of Goods and Services Tax, GST regime across the country.
  • The bill will help curtail black money and traders will be compelled to give proper bills.
• HDFC Life,Max Life Boards Approve Merger
  • The boards of HDFC Life & Max group companies have approved the merger of the two life insurance entities.
  • The merger will create the largest private sector life insurance company in the country.
  • It will have assets under management of Rs.1.1 lakh crore with seven million customers.
  • In the private life insurance space, only ICICI Prudential Life Insurance had reported AUM of Rs 1 lakh crore.