CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/04/2015

    CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/04/2015

1. AGREEMENT BETWEEN UN MEMBERS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:

i.  193 member states of the United Nations signed pact on a new Sustainable Development Agenda.

ii. The new Agenda draft document called “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

iii. The Agenda includes steps for eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, improving living standards and taking urgent action to combat climate change.

iv. The agreement mentions 17 goals with 169 specific targets on issues relating to end poverty from everywhere to ensuring quality education, affordable and reliable energy.

United nations: The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. The organization was established on 24 October 1945 following the Second World War to prevent another such conflict. The UN had 51 member states in1945;  and now  there are 193 members.
The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

2. INDIA WON BRONZE MEDAL AT 6TH SENIOR ART GYMNASTICS ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:

i.   Ace Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar won bronze medal at the 6th Senior ART Gymnastics Asian Championships.

ii. The 6th Senior ART Gymnastics Asian Championships held at Hiroshima, Japan.

iii. She had also won a bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

3. ‘FRISBEE’ RECOGNISED AS OLYMPIC SPORT BY IOC:

i.   International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recognised ‘Frisbee’ as an Olympic sport.

ii. Decision was taken at the 128th IOC Session held in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia.

iii. It was included as Olympic sport after World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) had meet all the eligibilty criteria.

     Frisbee is the sport of flying disc .World Flying Disc Federation governs all Frisbee events. Head of International Olympic Committee: Thomas Bach

     Head quarter of International Olympic Committee: Lausanne, Switzerland

4.  GOVERNMENT SIGNS LANDMARK PEACE ACCORD WITH NSCN:

i.   Government has signed a landmark peace accord with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).

ii.  The Accord is signed to end  almost two decades long pending peace talks.

iii. This would bring peace and solution to the State.

iv. The accord was signed in presence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the NSCN (IM) leader Th. Muivah, and government's interlocutor for Naga peace talks RN Ravi.

     Nagaland is also known as Epicenter of insurgency in north-eastern India. Recently the government has extended Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 for one more year on Nagaland.
Chief Minister of Nagaland: R. Zeliang.

CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/03/2015

    CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/03/2015

1.      INDIA TO HOST 2ND FORUM FOR INDIA-PACIFIC ISLANDS COOPERATION (FIPIC)

i.         India will host second edition meeting of Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on 21 August 2015 in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

ii.      It will be attended by the heads of 14 island nations from Indo-Pacific oceanic region.

It is India’s first step towards greater engagement with the region, which is important from geostrategic and economic standpoint.It will help India in countering the growing Chinese influence in the pacific oceanic region.In FIPIC meeting the nations  will ink agreements in various potential areas such as: agriculture, fisheries, food processing, solar energy, e-networks for coordination in tele-education

2.      INDIA WON SILVER MEDAL IN WORLD ARCHERY CHAMPIONSHIP

i.         Indian women’s recurve archery team has won silver medal in World Archery Championship held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

ii.       Indian women’s team included trio of Laxmirani Majhi, Deepika Kumari, and Rimil Buriuly.

iii.      The gold medal is won by Russian women’s team included trio of Ksenia Perova, Inna Stepanova and Tuyana Dashidorzhieva.

iv.     Indian Archer Rajat Chauhan has won silver medal in the World Archery Championships in the compound category.

3.      “SUBSIDY SCHEME” LAUNCHED BY SPICES BOARD OF INDIA

ü   Spices Board of India has launched subsidy scheme in a bit to promote spice cultivation in India.

 Under this scheme:-

ü  Financial Assistance: To farmers cultivating and planting various spices will be provided.

ü  The assistance will be provided for irrigation, mechanisation, land development, soil conservation, replanting and organic farming of various spices.

ü   Under this scheme financial aid will be also given to purchase farming equipment and irrigation tools.

4.      “CERN” FORMALLY CONFERS ITS ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP TO PAKISTAN

i.      Pakistan was formally conferred Associate Membership status by European Organization for Nuclear Research (also known as CERN).

ii.     Pakistan became the first Asian country to become member of CERN.

iii.   It will open a new era of scientific cooperation between CERN and Pakistani scientific community.

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research (also known as CERN) is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. CERN in French stands for ‘Conseil Européen pour la Recherché Nucléaire’. It has 22 member states. Israel is the first and only non-European country with full membership status.  Located at Switzerland Established in 1954. Main function: To provide the infrastructure needed for high energy physics research including particle accelerators. India have observer status in CERN programmes.

CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/02/2015

      CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/02/2015

1. JOSHNA CHINAPPA WON SQUASH TITLE VICTORIAN OPEN:

i. Indian player Joshna Chinappa won the women’s squash title in the 15000 US Dollar,Victorian Open WSA Event in Melbourne, Australia .

 ii. Joshna Chinappa defeated  Line Hansen of Denmark.

iii. The  28-year-old Joshna, has now  won 10 women’s squash title.

2. TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT  STARTED YOUTH AWARD IN  THE NAME OF DR APJ ABDUL KALAM:

 i.   The state government of Tamil Nadu started youth award in the name of former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

 ii. THE  Award consisting of  8 gram gold, 5 lakh rupees in cash and a citation.

iii. The award would be given  on every Independence Day to a person from the state who works with exceptional merit in science, humanities and students welfare.

      Dr APJ ABDUL Kalam’s birthday on October 15th would be celebrated as the Youth Revival Day.

Former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam KNOWN AS  People’s President ,MISSILE MAN Died on 27 July 2015. He was the 11th President of India and was awarded with India’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna in 1997.

Chief Minister of TAMIL NADU : J Jayalalithaa

 3. INDRA-DHANUSH AIR EXERCISE  BETWEEN INDIA AND UK:

i. Indo-UK bilateral Air Exercise Indra-dhanush conducted between Indian Air Force

   (IAF) and British Royal Air Forces (RAF) .

ii. It was a 10 days exercise conducted in BRITAIN.

    Chief of Indian navy: Admiral RK Dhowan

    Defence minister :Manohar Parrikar

4. INDIA AND BANGLADESH PHYSICALLY TRANSFERRED ENCLAVES ON INDO-BANGLADESH BORDER

i. India and Bangladesh physically transferred 162 enclaves/chitmahals located on Indo-Bangladesh border.

ii. India and Bangladesh exchanged enclaves, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves merged with India,    while 111 Indian enclaves merged with Bangladesh.

This exchange gave citizenship identity to over 52,000 people of either country, thus giving them access to all legal rights and civic amenities. Earlier people in these enclaves were living a stateless existence for 68 years.

Pm of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina

Currency of Bangladesh: Bangladeshi Taka

CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/1/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS AUG/1/2015

1. BEJING TO HOST 2022 WINTER OLYMPICS

i. International Olympic Committee announced that Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

ii.  Beijing became the first city to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics and it hosted Summer Olympics in 2008.

iii. Beijing was awarded the Games because it fitted its new agenda for a stronger focus on sustainability, legacy, and transparency.

Beijing is the capital of China

President of International Olympic Committee: Thomas Bach

The 2014 Winter Olympics was held in Sochi, Russia and it was the most expensive Olympics in history. In 2018, the Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

    

2. 30 JULY OBSERVED AS WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

i. World Day Against Trafficking in Persons was observed across the world on 30 July.

ii. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the global campaign GiveHope to raise awareness around the plight of survivors of trafficking in persons.

  United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime head quarter: Vienna, Austria

     According to UNODC's biennial Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, at least 152 countries are affected by trafficking in persons and 21 million people are trapped in  slavery. Maximum of the victims are children.

3. CENTRE TO INDUCT RS 20,000 CRORES CAPITAL  IN PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS

i. The government has decided to infuse capital of Rs 20,000 crore in public sector banks.

    ii. Rs 10,000 crore of this money will be used to support "weak" banks.

iii. The finance ministry is setting up a rating system for public sector banks where their performance will be measured.

     Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are banks where a majority stake is held by a government.[1] The shares of these banks are listed on stock exchanges. There are a total of 27 PSBs in India [19 Nationalised banks + 6 State bank group (SBI + 5 associates) + 1 IDBI bank (Other Public Sector-Indian Bank) = 26 PSBs + 1 Bhartiya Mahila Bank].

4. PRABHROOP SEKHON WON TWO GOLD MEDAL  AT WORLD SUMMER GAMES

i. Fourteen year old Master Prabhroop Sekhon  won two gold medals in 300 metre and 500 metre Roller Skating at the Special Olympics World Summer Games.

ii. The event is being held at Los Angeles, USA.

iii. Prabhroop Sekhon is the son of a serving Air Force Officer, Group Captain BS Sekhon.

     Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015: They are an international sporting competition organized by special Olympics for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics founded in 1968.To celebrate the talent ,perservance and achievement of those with intellectual disabilities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS July/31/2015

    CURRENT AFFAIRS July/31/2015

1.  RESERVE BANK OF INDIA TO ISSUE 10 RUPEES COINS TO COMMEMORATE ‘INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA’

i.   RBI decided to put into circulation 10 Rupees coin to commemorate the international Day of  Yoga .

ii.  The coin have been minted by the Government of India.

iii.  The coin bears the logo of International Day of Yoga

The coins are minted under the coinage act 2011. Coins are minted at the four India government mints at Mumbai, Alipore (Kolkata) Saijabad (Hyderabad) a, Cherlapally (Hyderabad) and Noida (UP)

The coin bears :

ü  logo of "International Day of Yoga", with inscription "सामंजस्यएवं शान्ति के लिए योग" in Devnagri Script and "YOGA FOR HARMONY AND PEACE" around the logo.

ü  The date "21 JUNE" is written at the bottom of the logo.

ü  The inscription "अंतर्राष्ट्रीय योग दिवस" in Devnagri script

2. KALYANI GROUP PARTNERS WITH ISRAEL’S RAFAEL TO MAKE SPIKE MISSILE

i.   India’s Kalyani group and Israel’s Rafael have partnered to produce spike anti tank guided missile in India.

The FDI proposal in this regard was cleared by defense acquisition council which was chaired by  defense minister worth 3200 crore rupees

Defense Minister: Manohar Parrikar

3.  CYCLONE KOMEN FORMED OVER BAY OF BENGAL

i.  Cyclone Komen formed after the depression over the northern Bay of Bengal turned into cyclone storm.

ii.  Indian meteorological department forecasted heavy to very heavy rains with isolated extremely heavy rains in Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha.

4.  E-TOURIST VISA SCHEME EXTENDED TO CHINA, HONG KONG AND MACAU

i.    E-Tourist visa scheme was extended to China ,Hong Kong and Macau.

ii.  Now total number of countries covered under E-tourist visa scheme increased to 77 from 74.

E-tourist visa scheme launched by government of India.Under this Scheme tourist with E-visa can arrive at 9 designated airports namely Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Trivandrum.

External Affairs Minister: Sushma Swaraj

5. GOVERNMENT TO SET UP NATIONAL INVESTMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (NIIF) 

i. Union Cabinet approved setting up of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to Support new and stressed projects so that it may help to restart the investment cycle.

ii.  The fund will have an initial corpus of 20000 crore rupees.

NIIF is proposed to be set up as a Trust which would raise debt to invest in the equity of infrastructure finance companies such as Indian Rail Finance Corporation (IRFC) and National Housing Bank (NHB).

The fund was proposed by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget 2015-16.

CURRENT AFFAIRS July/30/2015

    CURRENT AFFAIRS July/30/2015

1.  WORLD HEPATITIS DAY OBSERVED ON 28^TH JULY

i.   World Hepatitis Day observed on 28^th July with the theme ‘Prevent Hepatitis , act now’.

ii.  It is observed for raising awareness about Hepatitis B and C.

iii.  According to a survey 1.4 million people die every year because of Hepatitis B and C.

       Hepatitis is caused through contaminated water and food as well as contact with blood or bodily fluids, through unsafe infections or transfusions. Infections are also occur from a matter to a child or through sexual contact.

2. EMINENT VOCALIST VASUNDHARA KOMKALI DIED:

i.   Eminent musician Vasundhara Komkali died. She is the wife of musician late Pandit Kumar Gandhran.

3.  INTERNATIONAL TIGER DAY OBSERVED ON 29^THJULY:

i.  International Tiger Day is observed on 29^th July .

ii.  The day is observed to promote the protection and expansion of the wild Tiger habitats and to gain support through awareness for tiger Conservation.

The tiger count has fallen from 100,000 to 3200 in 2014. Tigers lost their natural habitat due to expansion of cities and agriculture by humans.

4.  DR. SUNITI SOLOMON, PIONEERING INDIAN HIV/AIDS RESEARCHER, PASSED AWAY

i.  The first person in India who documented the nation’s first HIV/AIDS case in 1986. Dr. Suniti Soloman Passed Away.

       HIV: Human Immune Deficiency Virus

      AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

      HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual inter course, contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles and from mother to child during pregnancy etc.

5.  KOTAK BANK LAUNCHES ‘KOTAK BHARAT’ APP:

i.  Kotak Mahindra Bank launched a mobile banking app. Kotak bharat aiming to provide mobile banking services to customers in the remote region of India.

6.  SANJIV CHATURVEDI, ANSHU GUPTA WON RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD 2015

i.  Two Indian Sanjiv Chaturvedi and Anshu Gupta have been awarded prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award.

·         Ramon Magsaysay award is Asia’s highest honor and regarded as equivalent to Nobel Prize.

·         It is started in 1947 in the memory of Philippines 3^rdPresident Ramon Magsaysay.

·         It is awarded annually to individuals or organization from Asia region for their altruistic and Philanthropic service.

CURRENT AFFAIRS July/29 /2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS July/29 /2015

1.  SWATI MALIWAL TOOK CHARGE AS CHAIRPERSON OF DELHI COMMISSION FOR WOMEN (DCW)

i.   Swati Maliwal is appointed as new Chairperson of DCW .

ii.  She is the wife of Aam Admi Party Leader Navin Jaihind.

Delhi Commission for Women is constituted with aim to investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the constitution and other laws.

2. ASHISH BAHUGUNA APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN OF FOOD SAFETY REGULATOR FSSAI.

i.   Ashish Bahuguna appointed as chairman of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

·         FSSAI was established under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 which consolidates various acts and orders related to food issues.

·         FSSAI comes under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

·         Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: J.P NADDA

3.  INDIA SIGNED LOAN AGREEMENT OF $ 300 MILLION WITH ADB FOR NATIONAL URBAN HEALTH MISSION (NUHM)

i. Asian development Bank has signed an agreement of $ 300 million for NUHM

NUHM :It was started in 2013.Its aim is to improve the health status of country’s urban population and providing quality health services to the urban poor .It covers all 779 cities with a population of above 50,000.

ADB:Established in 1966

Headquarter of ADB at Manila,Philippines

4.  WOMEN’S RECURVE ARCHERY TEAM QUALIFIES FOR RIO OLYMPICS

i.    The Indian women’s recurve archery team qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics by reaching the final of the World Archery championship at Copenhagen in Denmark.

ii.  The women’s trio comprising Laxmi Rani, Rimil Buriuly and Deepika Kumari qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics.

·         2016 summer Olympics at Rio de Janerio , Brazil

·         Motto: Live your Passion

·         Mascot: Vinicius and Tom

5.  SEBI CANCELS LICENSE OF SAHARA MUTUAL FUNDS

i.  Securities exchange board of India cancels Registration of Sahara Mutual funds, as it was no longer fit and proper to carry out its business.

ii.  Sahara India Company is involved in the high profile alleged investor fraud case involving estimated Rs 24000 crore of 3 crore investors.

iii.  Subrata Roy : Chief of Sahara Group.

6.  SURFACE TO AIR MISSILE TO BE TESTED IN ISRAEL:

i. The long range surface to air missile LR-SAM developed with the help of Israel is to be tested in Israel .

ii.  The missile can reach targets upto 70 km is developed by DRDO and Israel Aero Space industry.

DRDO – Defense Research Development Organization Headquarter at New Delhi.

·         President of Israel : Reuven Rivlin

·         Capital of Israel : Jerusalem

·         Currency of Israel : Israeli new Shekel

·         India and Israel both countries are good partners .India is the largest buyer of Israeli Military equipment and Israel is 2^ndlargest defense supplier to India after Russia.