Current Affairs Daily Updates: 02 September 2017

  /  
Mentor for Bank Exams
Current Affairs Daily Updates: 02 September 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Kenneth I. Juster Named U.S Ambassador to India
  • Kenneth I. Juster, deputy director of the National Economic Council at the White House, has been nominated as the next U.S ambassador to India.
  • The appointment will take effect once the U.S Senate confirms him. The post has been vacant since January 20, 2017.
US President Trump names James Bridenstine to head NASA
  • US President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to appoint James Bridenstine, a former navy pilot and Republican congressman, to head the US space agency NASA.
  • Bridenstine, who backed Trump during the US presidential campaign, had long been considered the favorite for the job of NASA administrator.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Ahmedabad gets India's first World Heritage City certificate
  • Ahmedabad in Gujarat formally accorded the status of India's first World Heritage City with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director General Irina Bokova handing over the certificate in this regard to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
  • Ahmedabad was selected out of 250 cities in the race for the coveted status.
  • India is second after China in terms of a number of world heritage properties in ASPAC (Asia and Pacific) region, and overall seventh in the world.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Fiscal deficit touches 92.4% of budget estimates at July-end
  • The union govt. fiscal deficit at the end of July this year touched 92.4% of the budget estimate.
  • This was mainly because of front loading of expenditure by government departments.
  • The government's revenue receipts improved to 2.91 lakh crore rupees during the April to July 2017 period, which is 19.2% of the target for the whole year.
  • Revenue expenditure widened to 131.2% of the budget estimate, from 93% in the corresponding period last year.
  • The government aims to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.2% of GDP in the current fiscal.
AMD launches Ryzen Pro processors for Business Personal Computer
  • Chipmaker AMD presented a new line of microprocessor chips called ‘Ryzen Pro’ for commercial desktop workstations to be available in India and other countries by end of 2017.
  • At the global launch of Ryzen Pro leading PC makers HP, Dell and Lenovo introduced new high-end workstations using Ryzen Pro to meet the demand of present scenario toughest computing-tasks.
  • The Ryzen Pro desktop processor is an 8 core and 16 thread CPU and much faster than the rival Intel’s ‘Core i7’ which is of 4 core and 8 thread.
SAAB Ties up With Adani Group to Build Gripen E fighter jets in India
  • Swedish defence major SAAB to tie-up with Adani Group to manufacture the Gripen E fighter jets in India under the Defence Ministry’s $10 billion single-engine fighter jet procurement programme.
  • The announcement comes within months of US’ Lockheed Martin announcing its joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems for producing the latest version of F-16 in India.
  • Gripen is now used by the air forces of Hungary, Thailand, South Africa, Brazil and the Czech Republic.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India, China jointly oppose trade-distorting agri subsidies
  • India and China have called for eliminating trade-distorting agricultural subsidies given by developed countries, in a joint proposal to the WTO.
  • India and China have jointly submitted a proposal to the WTO, which has been called for ending the agricultural subsidies given by developed countries. In this proposal, subsidy has been described as "the most distorted form of agricultural subsidy". This kind of subsidy is called 'Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS)' or 'Amber Box' subsidy in the WTO language.
  • The proposal assumes importance in view of the ongoing negotiations for the ministerial conference of the WTO to be held in Buenos Aires in December.
  • The joint letter cites the developed countries, including the US, EU and Canada, which are providing continuous turnover subsidy to their farmers, which is much more than the limit set for developing countries.
India most corrupt Asian country, Vietnam second: Forbes
  • A recent survey by the Transparency International states that India is the most corrupt country in Asia.
  • Depicting how pervasive the problem is across Asia, a list released by Forbes – Asia’s Five Most Corrupt Countries – says that India beats Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Myanmar, when it comes to bribery rate. India is closely followed by Vietnam at 65 per cent bribery rate.
Indian-origin civil servant J Y Pillay appointed Singapore’s acting president
  • Indian-origin veteran civil servant JY Pillay appointed Singapore’s acting President.
  • He replaces Tony Tan Keng Yam who completed a six-year term.
  • According to the report, this is the first time the office has fallen vacant since the elected presidency was introduced in 1991.
World's highest sandcastle built in German city
  • The world's highest sandcastle is now standing 16.68 meters tall in the German city of Duisburg.
  • A German travel operator organized the construction of the mammoth sandcastle, bringing in 3,500 tons of sand over the past three and a half weeks to the site at a former steelworks in the inland city.
  • The new sandcastle is decorated with sand models of tourist attractions such as Athens' Acropolis, Barcelona's Sagrada Familia and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Assam for first time extends AFSPA orders on its own
  • Assam Government has extended term of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 and declared entire state a Disturbed Area for six more months under Section 3 of AFSP Act.
  • This is for first time state government has extended AFSPA and Disturbed Area provision on its own. In the past, AFSPA provisions in state were always extended by the Centre.
  • The law and order situation in Assam continues to be matter of concern due to violent incidents carried out by the underground groups, as many as 16 incidents involving these groups were reported between May and July 2017.
  • These incidents had resulted in deaths of civilians, security personnel and militants.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves For Two Nation Visit
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for a two nation tour to China and Myanmar.
  • He will reach Xiamen to attend the 9th BRICS Summit.
  • He will hold discussions with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on matters of mutual interest and also call on President U Htin Kyaw.
Environment Ministry to Launch ‘Prakriti Khoj’ – An Environment Quiz
  • The Environment Ministry will launch an environment awareness initiative, under which an online environmental quiz competition named “Prakriti Khoj” – an Environment Quiz to be conducted at the national level.
  • The quiz is being launched on September 5 on the occasion of Teachers’ Day. It will be an ideal medium to reach out to young minds through a fun-filled interactive learning mode to trigger their sensitivity towards environment protection and conservation.
  • The objective of the quiz is to generate interest among school children about the science related to environment, interactions within it and the problems therein.
  • This will help in sensitizing the children/youth to issues related to environment and development and motivate children towards environment conservation-oriented lifestyles.
Central scheme for senior citizens launched in Gujarat
  • Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot launched a scheme that provides for physical aids and assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to the BPL category.
  • The centrally-sponsored scheme, `Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana', was unveiled on April 1 this year and since then it has already been launched in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
  • Under the scheme, devices were distributed to senior citizens free of cost.
  • These devices will help the elderly people overcome their age-related physical impairment and lead a dignified and productive life with minimal dependence on care givers or other members of the family.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
World’s biggest and powerful X-ray laser gun unveiled
  • The world’s largest and powerful X-ray laser- European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) unveiled in Hamburg, Germany.
  • The XEFL is series of 3.4-kilometer tunnels up to 38 meters underground near the city of Hamburg.
  • It took 8 years to build 1.5-billion-euro ($1.7 billion) facility.
  • It has the capacity to generate extremely intense laser flashes, at a rate of 27,000 per second generated by Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE).
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Saina & Srikanth climb up ladder in latest BWF world ranking
  • Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth climbed up the ladder in the latest BWF world ranking. Saina, who won a bronze at the World Championship, jumped four rungs to be placed at the 12th spot, while Kidambi Srikanth also improved two positions.
  • Among others, Ajay Jayaram and B Sai Praneeth also improved by one and two places respectively to be placed at 16th and 17th spots.
  • Mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy improved a place to be at the 19th spot, while women's doubles combo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki were static at 24th.
  • World Championship silver medallist, P V Sindhu, retained her 4th position.
Sports Ministry approves constitution of Empowered Steering Committee
  • The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports approved Constitution of 13-member Empowered Steering Committee (ESC).
  • It will shape and influence India’s preparation for multi-disciplinary events, including 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
  • It will have chairperson appointed by the Government. It will have the mandate to work until December 31, 2020, with clearly defined terms and reference.