Current Affairs Daily Updates: 18th
August 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Mamta Suri takes charge as Executive Director of Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Board
- Mamta Suri takes charge as the Executive
Director of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
- Earlier, Dr. Suri was serving as the Chief
General Manager of the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of
India.
- IBBI is a regulator over the Insolvency
Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies, and Information
Utilities.
General Motors India appoints Sanjiv Gupta as President and MD
- General Motors (GM) India announced the
appointment of Sanjiv Gupta as the new President and Managing Director of
the company.
- The current President and Managing Director
Kaher Kazem will hand over the reins of the company to Sanjiv Gupta, who
is Chief Financial Officer, effective September 1, 2017
- He will combine his role as GM India President
and Managing Director with his finance leadership
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Five Indian-Origin Persons in Fortune’s Annual ‘40 Under 40’ List
- Five Indian-origin persons featured in
Fortune’s annual list of 40 young and influential people in the field of
business.
- The Indian-origin persons who are included in
the list are 26-year-old Divya Nag, Rishi Shah, Shradha Agarwal, Leila
Janah, and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
- The list which includes Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg on the second spot.
Emma Stone named as 2017’s Highest-Paid Female Actor
- Emma Stone named as Hollywood’s best-paid
female actor in Forbes annual list of top earners.
- The 28-year-old made $26m in the last 12
months, the majority of which was earned from her Oscar-winning performance
in the musical romance La La Land.
- Stone won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and
a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Karur Vysya Bank inaugurates AADHAAR enrolment centre in Chennai
- Private sector Karur Vysya Bank has unveiled
the Aadhaar Enrolment Centre in Chennai.
- It is the first private sector bank to provide
Aadhaar Enrolment Centre service in the country.
- The Customers need to bring in the approved
documents as proof of residence and identity.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Union Government Bans Export of Gold Items Above 22-Carat Purity
- The Union Government banned exports of Gold
jewellery, medallions and other articles above 22- carat purity in a bid
to check round-tripping of the precious metal.
- According to the Directorate General of Foreign
Trade (DGFT), certain provisions of the foreign trade policy (2015-20) are
amended to allow export of gold jewellery and articles containing gold of
8 carats and above up to a maximum limit of 22 carats only from domestic
tariff area and export-oriented units, electronics hardware technology
parks, software technology parks and bio technology parks.
BSNL launches Digital Wallet Powered by MobiKwik
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) went
digital by launching a bespoke mobile wallet (mobile payment App) that
would enable its existing 100 million customers to make Bill payments.
- This digital wallet was launched at an event by
Manoj Sinha, Minister for Telecommunications in the capital.
- The wallet has been developed and issued by
MobiKwik on behalf of BSNL.
GST relief for industrial units in Himalayan and NE region till 2027
- Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval to the
Scheme of providing Budgetary Support under Goods and Service Tax (GST)
Regime.
- The eligible industrial units located in State
of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and the North
Eastern States including Sikkim.
- It is estimated that a total number of 4284
eligible units located in the State(s) of Jammu & Kashmir,
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and the North Eastern States including
Sikkim will benefit from the above scheme.
DEATHS
Veteran photographer S Paul passes away
- Veteran photographer ‘S Paul’ (88-year) passed
away at a private hospital after undergoing a surgery a few days ago in
New Delhi.
- He joined The Indian Express in the 1960s and
retired from the newspaper in 1989.
- Paul received recognition and fame as a
professional photographer when his pictures were selected for publication
in three renowned British publications (Amateur Photographer, Miniature
Camera & Miniature Camera World).
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
First regional Centre of NDB opens in S. Africa
- The first regional center of the New
Development Bank (NDB) set up by India and other BRICS nations has been
officially opened in South Africa.
- The idea for setting up NDB was proposed by
India at the 4th BRICS summit in 2012 held in New Delhi.
- The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly
referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development
bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa) with an initial authorized capital of the bank is USD 100
billion.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Environment Minister Launches “Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali” Campaign
- Union Minister for Environment, Forest and
Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan,
launched the “Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali” campaign.
- The Minister impressed upon the children the
importance of their contribution towards reducing pollution by not
bursting harmful fire crackers during Diwali.
NHAI launches mobile App MyFASTag and FASTag Partner
- The National Highways Authority of India
launched two mobile Apps namely MyFASTag and FASTag Partner in New Delhi,
to facilitate the availability of FASTags for Electronic Toll Collection.
- MyFASTag is a consumer App can be downloaded
from the App Store for both Android and iOS systems.
- FASTag Partner is a merchant App agencies like
Common Services Centre, banking partners, and vehicle dealers can sell and
enroll FASTag through this App.
Union Government to Conduct ‘World’s Largest Sample Survey’ for Students
- The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry
announced November 13 as the date for conducting its National Assessment
Survey (NAS) for the students of class 3, 5, and 8.
- During several rounds of the survey, a total of
4.45 lakh students has been tested for various learning outcomes.
- Approximately 30 lakh students will be assessed
in the year 2017-18 making it the world’s largest sample survey of student
learning achievement.
President Ram Nath Kovind asks mining companies to make policy for
welfare of labourers
- President Ramnath Kovind asked mining companies
to make a policy for the welfare of labourers and their families.
- The mineral sector contributes 2.6 per cent of
country's GDP and provides direct employment to over 10 lakh people on a
daily basis.
- The 37 winner prizes and 34 runner-up prizes
were given to the winning mines.
- The award for each mine is received jointly by
one management representative and one workers’ representative.
Union Cabinet clears stalled North Koel Reservoir Project in Bihar
- The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to
complete the balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project in Bihar, stalled
since 1993.
- Under the revived project, storage of water in
Mandal dam to be constructed under it will be will be restricted at a
lower level than envisaged earlier.
- The project is situated on the North Koel
river, a tributary of Sone River. It aims to provide irrigation to 111,521
hectares of land annually.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
Defence Ministry clears proposal to procure 6 Apache attack helicopters
for Army
- Defence Ministry cleared a proposal to procure
6 Apache attack helicopters for Army.
- The acquisition of the helicopters, equipment
and training cost around four thousand 168 crore rupees.
- The Defence Council also approved a proposal to
procure two gas turbine engines for Naval ships at a cost of 490 crore
rupees.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Real Madrid won Spanish Super Cup
- Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup for the
10th time recently.
- He defeated over Barcelona Team.
- MarcoAsensio and Karim Benzema scored for Real
Madrid to secure a 2-0 win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup.
Lakshya won the Bulgaria Open International Series title
- Lakshya won the Bulgaria Open International
Series title recently.
- He defeated Croatia's Zvonimir Durkinjak in the
men's singles final in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- He had beaten Sri Lanka's Dinuka Karunaratna
21-19 21-14 in the semi-finals.
