Current Affairs Daily Updates: 19th August
2017
APPOINTMENTS
Putin appoints Nikolay Kudashev as Russia’s New Ambassador to India
- Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed
career diplomat Nikolay Kudashev as Russia’s new ambassador to India.
- The appointment of Kudashev comes nearly seven
months after the death of Russia’s previous ambassador to India Alexander
Kadakin.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Union Bank Signs Insurance Deals
- Union Bank of India entered into a corporate
agency agreement with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Cholamandalam MS
General Insurance for distribution of their insurance products.
- The public sector bank already with the
corporate agency agreement with The New India Assurance.
Reserve Bank of India to shortly issue new Rs 50 currency note
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly issue
new banknotes of Rs 50 denomination in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series.
- The banknote will bear the signature of RBI
Governor Dr. Urjit R. Patel on the front side along with the guarantee and
promise clause and the RBI emblem.
- It will have Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait at the
Centre and a see through register with denominational numeral 50. Micro
letters ‘RBI’, ‘à¤ारत’, ‘INDIA’ and ‘50’ and Ashoka Pillar emblem on
the right will also feature on the front side.
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED
World Photography Day being observed on 19th August
- World Photography Day' observed today to
inspire photographers across the planet to share a single photo with the
world.
- On this day, camera persons take stock of the
different kind of photography that has come to the fore.
- On August 19 in 2010, World Photo Day hosted
its first global online gallery.
World humanitarian Day is observed on 19th August
- World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is held every year
on 19 August to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in
humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises
around the world.
- The theme for WHD 2017 will be #NotATarget.
- This campaign follows on the UN Secretary-General’s
report on the protection of civilians, which was launched earlier this
year.
- Laying out his ‘path to protection’, the
Secretary-General calls for enhanced respect for international
humanitarian and human rights law, and protection of civilians, including
humanitarian and medical workers as well as civilian infrastructure.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Sri Lanka appoints First Tamil Navy Chief After Four Decades
- Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah appointed as the
chief of Sri Lanka's naval forces to head the Navy since the brutal civil
war erupted in the country 45 years ago.
- He succeeds Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne got
retired.
- He got appointed as the Navy Chief by President
Maithripala Sirisena.
China launches First Cyber Court in e-commerce Hub
- China launched its first cyber court specializing
in handling Internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou.
- The Hangzhou Internet Court in Hangzhou will
handle cases such as online trade disputes and copyright lawsuits.
- Hangzhou is home to many Internet companies,
including e-commerce giant Alibaba.
United States and Japan Vow To Boost Defence Cooperation with India
- The United States of America and Japan agreed
to advance their multilateral security and defense cooperation with
countries like India, South Korea, and Australia, amidst China's growing
assertiveness in the Asia Pacific region.
- During the meeting, the ministers underscored
the importance of cooperating to promote a rules-based international
order, taking note of the United States continued the commitment to
maintain a strong presence in the region and Japan initiatives
demonstrated by its “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Telecom Regulators of 23 Asia-Pacific countries to meet at Delhi
- The Telecom regulators of 23 countries from the
Asia-Pacific will meet in Delhi this month to discuss challenges in
framing rules for the digital ecosystem and regional roaming.
- The Regulatory heads of Australia, Afghanistan,
Iran, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, Fiji and some
others are slated to attend the International meet.
- Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha is scheduled to
inaugurate the roundtable on August 21 that is being jointly organized by
the International Telecom Union.
Chief Election Commissioner inaugurates two-day Chief Electoral
Officers’ Conference
- Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti and
Election Commissioner OP Rawat inaugurated a two-day Chief Electoral
Officers’ Conference in New Delhi.
- He stressed on the need of providing E-services
to stakeholders and emphasized the requirement to develop E-Payment
gateways for various election services of Election commission.
- He underlined the need for extensive training
programs on Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) as the Commission
has decided to conduct all future elections using it along with Electronic
Voting Machines.
Smriti Irani to inaugurate Orient Craft Textile facility in Jharkhand
- Union Minister for Textile and Information
& Broadcasting, Smriti Irani to inaugurate Orient Craft Textile
facility at Irba near Ranchi in Jharkhand.
- The event will pave way for new investment as
two projects will be inaugurated while foundation stone will be laid for
70 projects during the function.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
Navika Sagar Parikrama is Circumnavigating the Globe on an Indian-Built
Sail Boat INSV Tarini by Women Naval Officers
- Navika Sagar Parikrama is a project wherein a
team of women officers of the Indian Navy would circumnavigate the globe
on an Indian-built sail boat INSV Tarini.
- This is the first ever Indian circumnavigation
of the globe by an all-women crew.
- The voyage of Navika Sagar Parikrama will begin
from Goa in the first week of September 2017 and culminate on their return
in March 2018.