Current Affairs August 12 2019

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

Rotavirus vaccination extended across all states and UTs by September 2019
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, decided to provide Rotavirus vaccine (RVV) to children across all states and Union Territories (UT)  by September 2019 inorder to achieve the goal of ending morbidity and mortality in children due to diarrhoea by 2022.
i. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea in children of less than 2 years of age.
ii. The  Rotavirus can be prevented by Rotavirus vaccination. The rotavirus vaccine (RVV) was recommended by an expert committee, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), in the Universal Immunization Programme(UIP)…………………………Click here to Read more

Three member panel to resolve dispute between SAIL and Railways set up by the govt
A three member committee was set up by the govt. to resolve dispute between the Indian Railways and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) regarding issues related to the quantity and supply of high-quality steel rails.
i. Doubts based on the quality of rails supplied by SAIL arose after a team from the University of Illinois conducted a study Transportation Technology Transfer (TTT).
ii. The SAIL however reported that the rails were supplied after stringent (strict) inspection was done by RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Service) which is a third party inspection agency…………………………..Click here to Read more

President Ram Nath Kovind approves J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019
On August 9, 2019, President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Ministry of Law and Justice issued the Gazette Notification. The Act seeks to make J&K a Union Territory (UT) with legislature and Ladakh, a UT without legislature. According to the notification by the Home Ministry the 2 new Union territories will come into existence on October 31, 2019.

CBDT increases the monetary threshold limit for IT department for filing appeals
On August 8, 2019, The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) increased the monetary limit for an appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 20 lakh. This is done to reduce litigation.
Key Points:
i. High Courts limit: The limit has been doubled to Rs 1 crore from Rs 50 lakh.
ii. Supreme Court’s limit: The revised limit for filing appeal has been increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.
iii. Withdrawal: The income-tax department will withdraw 34% of cases stuck in tribunal, 48% of those stuck in High Courts and 54% in the Supreme Court.
iv. Last revision: The limits were last revised in July 2018.
About CBDT:
♦ Parent Organization: Ministry of Finance
♦ Chairman: Pramod Chandra Mody

2 day exhibition on DAE Technologies inaugurated in New Delhi
A two-day exhibition on DAE spinoff Technologies for non-power applications organised by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), was inaugurated by Shri Rakesh Gupta, chairman of UPSC (Union Public Service Commision) at New MotiBagh recreation club, New Delhi.Key points
i. The technologies covered by BARC(Bhabha Atomic Research Centre), Raja Ramanna centre for advanced technology, Indore and other units of DAE were exhibited.
ii. Equipment exhibited:  the equipment of agriculture, water, health and environment were kept for display. In health, there were 3 segments exhibited. They are I. Development of Radio Pharmaceuticals, ii. Production & distribution and finally its implementation for diagnosis and therapeutic application.
iii. The rural technologies were made available for the rural youth through ‘AKRUTI’ (Advanced Rural Technology Implementation Initiative) programme.
iv. In the environment category, Nisargruna plant was kept for display which is a bio methanization plant.
v. Members present: The exhibition was viewed by secretary of DAE, Dr. K.N Vyas. Former secretaries of DAE, Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Dr M.R. Srinivasan were also present.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Saudi’s ARAMCO will buy 20% of RIL’s oil and chemical business for $15 bn
On August 12,2019, In the 42^nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Ltd(RIL), its Chairman &MD(managing director) Mukesh Ambani stated that Saudi Arabia’s most profitable oil company Saudi Aramco will buy 20 % stake of RIL’s  oil and chemicals business for about $15 billion (approximately Rs 1.06 lakh crore), which will be one of the biggest FDI(foreign direct investment) deal in the country.
The flagship deal is registered an enterprise value of $75 billion (around Rs 5,32,466 crore). The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
i. As part of the deal, Aramco will supply 700,000 barrels per day on a long-term basis of crude oil to Reliance’s twin refineries(Reliance & petrochemical complex) at Jamnagar in Gujarat, which has the total capacity of 68.2 million tonnes per annum…………………….Click here to Read more

Reliance Jio and Microsoft tied up to accelerate digital transformation in India
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, and Microsoft Corporation announced a 10-year long-term strategic relationship to accelerate the digital transformation of the Indian economy and society. Key Points:
i. The objective of the partnership is to increase the adoption of leading technologies like data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cognitive services, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and edge computing among small and medium enterprises to make them ready to compete and grow.
ii. It will help to accelerate technology-led GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth in India and drive adoption of next-gen technology solutions at scale.
iii. The combination of Jio’s leading connectivity and digital solutions with Azure, Azure AI and Office 365 will result in powerful tools and platforms.
iv. The initial two data centres, which will be set up by Jio in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, can house IT (Information technology) equipment consuming up to 7.5 MW (Megawatt) of power.
About Microsoft:
♦ Headquarters: Washington DC, US
♦ CEO: Satya Narayana Nadella
About Reliance Industries Limited(RIL):
♦ Headquarters: Mumbai
♦ CEO: Mukesh Ambani

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Ahead of the Independence day, a 15-km long tricolor unfurled by forming a human chain in Raipur, Chhattisgarh
On August 12, 2019, Ahead of the Independence day celebrations(15 August,2019), thousands of people including those belonging to 35 social organizations across the state, and students from various schools unfurled a 15-km long national flag by forming a human chain from Amapara Chowk to Pt Ravishankar Shukla University in Raipur ,Chhattisgarh.
Key points:
i. As per the public relations department of Chattisgarh state government, the event, organized by Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam Foundation, entered the Champions Book of World Records for the longest tricolor.
ii. Former chief ministers Raman Singh and Ajit Jogi, state cabinet ministers, MLAs (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and other public representatives have attended this event.
iii. Similarly, School students in Tirupur(Tamil Nadu) took out a rally holding the national Tricolor of 330 metres length.
About Chattisgarh:
♦ Chief minister: Bhupesh Baghel
♦ Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
♦ National Parks: Indravati (Kutru) National Park, Kanger Valley National Park, Guru Ghasi Das (Sanjay) National Park.

Badshah of Bollywood, “Shah Rukh Khan”  felicitated with an honorary doctorate degree by Melbourne’s La Trobe University
Shah Rukh Khan (53), an Indian actor, film producer, and commonly known as  “Badshah of Bollywood” has been conferred with an honorary degree, Doctor of Letters by the La Trobe University of Melbourne, Australia (1^st Australian University to award Khan with this honour), during his visit to University as the chief guest of the 10th edition  Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2019 (IFFM). He received this honour in recognition of his humanitarian efforts towards underprivileged children, empowering women through MEER foundation, and his achievements in Bollywood.Key points:
i. IFFM:  The honour was presented to khan by John brumby, former premier and chancellor of the university. He was also presented with Kookaburra cricket bat by the university.
ii. Research scholarship:  The University also announced a 4-year scholarship programme for a female Indian candidate to conduct research in areas like cybersecurity, health, engineering sport, information technology, whereby the recipient of this scholarship will receive 200,000 Australian dollars.
iii. IFFM Awards 2019: The 10^th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2019 (IFFM) Organised by the Victorian government, Australia at iconic Palais Theatre in Melbourne started from August 8 to15,2019 with the central theme as “courage”. The festival also commemorated the 21st anniversary of “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” by Karan Johar.
The list of winners:

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Chandrima Shaha to be the first woman president of INSA from 2020
Former director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII), Delhi, Ms Chandrima Shaha (66) is all set to become the first woman president of the Indian National Science Academy  (INSA) from January 1, 2020. She will succeed Ajay K. Sood.Key points
Shaha will assume her new office along with the newly elected council of 30 other members from January.
Previous roles:
She was the vice-captain of West Bengal’s first women’s cricket team and also the first woman cricket commentator for All India Radio (AIR).
Shaha after becoming the INSA president wants to take similar initiatives like the ‘Science Setu’ that she initiated when she served as the director of NII. Science Setu was a part of which scientists would go and teach undergraduates.
About Shaha:
Born on 14th October 1952, she graduated with a Master’s degree from the University of Calcutta and completed her doctoral research in 1980 from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology.
i. She did her post-doctoral work at the University of Kansas Medical Centre from 1980-1982.
ii. Her main focus of the research was understanding mechanisms that cause cell death.
iii. She worked extensively with ‘Leishmania’ parasite which causes Kala Azar- and has authored over 80 research papers.

Anurag Adlakha appointed as YES bank CFO replacing Ahuja
On August 10, 2019, YES bank had made Anurag Adlakha as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) replacing Raj Ahuja who previously served as the senior group president and head of financial management of YES bank, will now be in charge of strategy, planning, and functions of the bank.
Key points
Appointed as Group Chief Strategy Officer, Raj Ahuja will report to the bank’s Managing director.
About YES bank
♦ Yes bank is India’s fourth-largest bank.
♦ Managing Director and CEO-Ravneet Gill.
♦ Part-time Chairman- Brahm Dutt.
♦ Founder-Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapoor.
♦ Founded- 2004, 15 years ago.
♦ Tagline- Experience our Expertise.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India’s first clinical ecotoxicology facility inaugurated at AIIMS, Delhi
On August 9, 2019, India’s first-of-its-kind clinical ecotoxicology facility was inaugurated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. It will investigate the increasing number of diseases resulting from exposure to environmental toxins contaminating water, food, and air. It will provide diagnostic and research services to all the clinical departments dealing with diseases due to ecotoxicity.About New Delhi:
♦ Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal
♦ Lt Governor: Anil Baijal

ENVIRONMENT

IPCC reports land to be a critical resource
On august 8,2019,The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) based in Geneva, Switzerland reported that land is under pressure from humans and climate change. The report also stated that keeping Global warming below 2°c by reducing greenhouse gas can somehow sort out the issue as different uses of land i.e., Forests, agriculture, urbanisation are affecting as well as getting affected by climate change.
i. This was the first time IPCC focused fully on land sector.
ii. It is a part of the run-up to the sixth edition of its main report called Assessment Reports which is due around 2022…………………..Click here to Read more

Giant river animals face the danger of being extinct
As per the report named, “The global decline of freshwater megafauna”, the giant river animals that once were in huge numbers have been reduced to a great extent in the last 50 years. This was published in the journal Global Change Biology. It is stated in the journal that the majority of the giant freshwater animal species are prone to extinction.
Key points
126 freshwater species around 72 countries were assessed for the study. It was found that freshwater species population declined by 88% and scientists attribute the reason for this loss to be from human activities like damming of rivers and population, killing of animals for meat, skins and eggs.
Critical freshwater animals:
i. Megafauna like Yangtze dolphin have already become extinct; Mekong giant catfish, weighing about 300kg from Mekong river, the home of the world’s largest catfish in southeast Asia and stingray,  India’s gharial crocodiles to European sturgeon plunged by 97% since 1970 across Europe, North Africa and Asia.
ii. The journal also stated that freshwater animals are declining much faster than land animals with some scientists assuming that earth is at the start of the 6th mass extinction of life, the first caused by humans rather than physical changes to the planet.
iii. There are also some success seen in conservative efforts, including population increase in two types of sturgeon in the United States(US), The American beaver and the Asian Irrawaddy river dolphin – though the latter is still under vulnerable classification.

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SPORTS

Bulgarian Junior International Championship 2019: Indian junior shuttlers won 3 Gold, 1 Silver & 2 Bronze 
Indian junior shuttlers won 6 medals- 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze at the Bulgarian Junior International Championships 2019 held at Sports Hall “Vasil Levski”, Pazardzhik, Bulgaria from August 8-11, 2019. It was organised by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).Winners:
i. In the women’s single’s category, India’s Samiya Imad Faruqui won gold by defeating Anastasiia Shapovalova of Russia by 9-21, 21-12, 22-20 points.
ii. Mixed doubles pair of Edvin Joy and Shruti Mishra of India won gold after defeating British pair of Brandon Zhi Hao and Abbygael Harris by 21-14, 21-17.
iii. In women’s doubles, Indian pair of Tanisha Crasto and Aditi Bhattwon clinched gold by beating Bengisu Ercetin and Zehra Erdfm from Turkey by 21-15, 18-21, 21-18.
iv. In Men’s doubles, Indian pair of Ishan Bhatnagar and Vishnuvardhan settled for silver against British pair of William Jones and Brandon Zhi Hao by 19-21, 18-21.
v. In Women’s singles, India’s Malvika Bansod lost to Anastasiia Shapovalova of Russia and settled for bronze.
vi. In Men’s Singles, India’s Meiraba Luwang lost to Georgii Karpov of Russia and settled for bronze.
About BWF:
♦ Formation: 1934
♦ Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
♦ President: Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen

Thailand women’s cricket team rewrites world record for most consecutive wins in T20I 
The Women’s Cricket team of Thailand rewrote a world record by winning 17^th successive T20 international match and surpassed the record held by Australian Women (16 victories). They won the match against the Netherlands in the fifth match of an ongoing Women’s T20I Quadrangular Series 2019 in the Netherlands. The other 2 teams of the quadrangular series are Ireland and Scotland.
i. England and Zimbabwe (14), and New Zealand (12) are the 3 other teams who have registered 10 or more successive wins in the T20 format.

Overview of 2019 Rogers Cup/Canadian Open
2019 Rogers Cup/ Canadian Open presented by National Bank of Canada was held from August 5-11, 2019. The Men’s tournament was held at IGA Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Women’s tournament was held at Aviva Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the 139^th edition of Men’s tournament with prize money of $5.7 million and 128^th Edition of Women’s tournament with prize money of $2.8 million. It was a part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour Masters 1000 of the 2019 ATP Tour, and of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Premier 5 tournaments of the 2019 WTA Tour, and 2019 United States (US) Open Series event. List of Winners:

About ATP:
♦ Founded: September 1972
♦ Chairman: Chris Kermode
About WTA:
♦ Founded: June 1973
♦ Chairman: Steve Simon

Overview of Hyderabad Open (Badminton) 2019
The Hyderabad Open (Badminton) 2019, officially known as IDBI Federal Life Insurance Hyderabad Open 2019, was held at G.M.C. Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad, India from August 6 -11, 2019. The total prize money of the tournament was $75,000. The 5^th Super 100 tournament of 2019 BWF World Tour was organized by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF).List of Winners:

About BAI:
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ President: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Chennai Lions beats Dabang Delhi in final to lift UTT Season 3 Trophy 2019
On August 11, 2019, Chennai Lions has captured the title for the 1^st time by defeating defending champions Dabang Delhi with (8–1) scores in the final of the 3^rd edition of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) 2019 played at Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi. Chennai Lions team was led by Sharath Kamal where Dabang Delhi led by Sathiyan Gnansekaran.
The list of winners:

The league awards awarded to the following players which include:

About UTT:
It is the country’s first-ever professional level table tennis league and contested by 6 teams. It was launched in 2017.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Book ‘Listening, Learning and Leading’ launched by union home minister Amit Shah
The book ‘Listening, Learning and Leading’ marking Shri Venkaiah Naidu’s two years of service as vice president was launched by Union Home minister Amit Shah at Kalaivanar Arangam, Chennai during the function organized by Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
Key points
i. Achievements during vice president’s tenure in these two years were discussed. Amit Shah especially noted about Venkaiah Naidu’s 19countries visit in these two years of which some countries like Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Malta have been the first ones to have ever been visited by an Indian vice president.
ii. The book captures few glimpses of vice president’s 330 public engagements across all states and union territories.
iii. Other members: other officials present in the launch were BanwarilalPurohit, Governor of Tamilnadu; Shri Prakash Javadekar, Union minister for Information and Broadcasting, Environment,Forests& climate change; Shri Edappadi K. Palanisamy, Chief minister of TamilNadu; deputy chief minister of TamilNadu Shri O.Panneerselvam, eminent scientists like Prof.M.S. Swaminathan, Dr.K.Kasturirangan, former ISRO(Indian Space Research Organisation) director and Members of Parliament from various parties.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Founder of ISRO, Vikram Sarabhai’s 100th birth anniversary observed on 12 August,2019
i, On August 12,2019,The founder of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) and is known as the Father of the Indian Space Program, Vikram Sarabhai’s 100th birth anniversary observed on 12 August,2019 across the country.
ii. On August 12,2019, To commemorate the birth centenary of Dr Vikram Sarabhai,  ISRO  has launched a year-long programmes and functions (include science and space exhibitions, competitions for school children, journalism awards and speeches by eminent personalities) will end on 12th August, 2020…………………..Click here to Read more

World elephant day celebrated on August 12, 2019

• Observed every year on August 12, The World Elephant Day is celebrated to create awareness and bring attention to the urgent plight (dangerous situation) of Asian and African elephants.
• The day was first launched on August 12, 2012.
• Singapore announced on World elephant day that ivory sales will be banned from the country from 2021……………………….Click here  to Read more

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