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Indian Affairs
Thermal Powertech flags off second unit two of Krishnapatnam plant
- Thermal Powertech Corporation India Ltd has synchronised the second 660 mega watt (MW) unit of its 1320 MW thermal power plant with the grid.
- The coal-fired power plant located in Krishnapatnam in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh has signed a power purchase agreement with Andhra Pradesh Power Distribution Companies for the supply of 500 MW to the Central, Eastern, Southern and Northern Power Distribution Companies for 25 years.
- It owns and operates two supercritical thermal power plants, Thermal Powertech Corporation India (TPCIL) and NCC Power Projects (NCCPP), each having a capacity of 1,320 MW, in Andhra Pradesh.
- CEO of Thermal Powertech Corporation : Atul Nargund
International Affairs
NABARD accredited as National Implementing Entity
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has been accredited as the first National Implementing Entity (NIE) of Green Climate Fund (GCF) established under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
- The decision to accredit NABARD was taken on 09 July 2015 at the Board meeting of GCF at Songdo, Republic of Korea in which Shri.R.Amalorpavanathan, Dy Managing Director, NABARD participated.
- NABARD has earlier been accredited by the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) of UNFCCC as the only National Implementing Entity (NIE) for India. In all five projects amounting to US $ 7.07 million have been submitted to AFB, of which 3 with an outlay of US $ 5.0 million have been approved by AFB.
- The application has undergone Fund’s stringent accreditation process based on three stages. The project plans to cover an area of 30,000 hectare under the agro-forestry plantation of fast growing canal eucalyptus species.
- GCF:Green Climate Fund (GCF) was set up under the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 to help developing countries finance clean energy, other mitigation efforts and adaptation to climate change.
Business
Mallinckrodt Pharma acquires Therakos for USD 1.3 billion
- Mallinckrodt, biopharmaceutical company has signed an agreement to buy a immunotherapy company Therakos Inc, for approximately 1.325 billion US dollars.
- Mallinckrodt Public Limited Company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes specialty pharmaceutical products and medical imaging agents worldwide.
- Therakos Inc is a US based global leader in autologous immune cell therapy delivered through extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) that focuses to harness the power of patients’ immune systems to fight blood cancer.
Banking & Finance
- SBI Q1 net profit rises 6% to Rs 4,714 crore(approx)
- India signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for NCRMP Projects
Appointments & Resigns
L&T Infotech appoints Sanjay Jalona as MD and CEO
- Larsen and Toubro appointed former Infosys executive Sanjay Jalona as the Managing Director and CEO of its IT arm, L&T Infotech.
- Jalona will take over office of L&T Infotech’s in New Jersey, USA.
- He also appointed as a Director on the board of L&T Infotech.
- Before coming to L&T he Jalona worked with Infosys as Executive Vice-President and global head of High-Tech Manufacturing and Engineering Services.
- During working with Infosys, he has held senior leadership positions across the US, Europe and India.
Awards
UP approved new guidelines for Begum Akhtar Award
Uttar Pradesh Government approved the modified guidelines for Begum Akhtar Award. The modification empowers the Chief Minister to make any further modify to the guidelines.
- Begum Akhtar Award is named after Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, as she is known as Begum Akhtar who was a well known Indian singer of Ghazal, and Dadra, and Thumri genres of Hindustani classical music.
- Akhtar received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music, and was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan (posthumously) by Union Government.
- Begum akthar was also given the title of Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazals).
- The award will be given to singers of ghazal, dadra, and thumri who have achieved a milestone in these forms of music and will be given to a singer who is a local resident of the state and should not be less than 40 years of age.
- This award will carry a cash award of 5 lakh rupees, an ‘angvastram’ and a certificate.
Sania recommended for Khel Ratna Awards
- Wimbledon doubles champion Sania Mirza has been recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by sports ministry
- The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna(RGKR) award is India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports, given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, government of India.This award carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component. Up to 2004–05, the cash component was Rs. 500,000/- (11,500 USD). In 2005, the money has been increased from Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 750,000
About Sania Mirza:
- Sania was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on 15 November 1986 in a Sunni Muslim family, to a builder, Imran Mirza and his wife Naseema, who worked in a printing business.
- Mirza began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She was trained by her father. Mirza won 10 singles and 13 doubles titles as a junior player.
- She won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships Girls’ Doubles title, partnering Alisa Kleybanova.
- She also reached the semifinals of the 2003 US OpenGirls’ Doubles, with Sanaa Bhambri and the quarterfinals of the 2012 US Open Girls’ Doubles.
- On the senior circuit, Mirza started to show early success as she made her debut in April 2001 on the ITF Circuit as a 15-year-old.
- With the win in WTA Mirza and Hingis also regain the top spot in 2015 Road to Singapore Standings trading spots with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and became the first team to qualify for WTA Finals.And she also became World No. 1 before winning the Grasscourt major.
Facebook awarded $21 million to Indian app developers under Fb Start initiative
- Facebook has given benefits of around $21 million to Indian developers as part of its FbStart initiative.
- FbStart is a programme launched last year to help early-stage mobile start-ups build and grow their applications. Under this, Facebook runs two tracks called ‘Accelerate companies’ and ‘Bootstrap companies’.
- FbStart is being organised across 20 cities to meet mobile developers. In the Asia-Pacific region, FbStart was organised in countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and India.
- In India, the event is being organised in Bengaluru and Gurgaon.
Environment
Australia unveils plan to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced cuts to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions that were immediately criticised by environmental groups and opposition politicians for lagging behind other advanced economies.
- The world’s largest exporter of coal and iron ore Australia will cut emissions by 26-28 percent of 2005 levels by 2030, a target that will be submitted as part of negotiations on a global climate deal in Paris at the end of the year 2015.
- Australia is currently aiming to reduce emissions by 5 percent from 2000 levels by 2020.
- Aimed to raise the level of energy generated by renewable sources to 50 percent by 2030.
- 63 percent of Australians wanted more action on climate change, up six percentage points from 2014.
347 flora, 424 fauna species discovered in 2013-14: Government
- Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar announced 347 species of flora and 424 of fauna, including two reptiles have been discovered in the country in 2013-2014
- This discovery is saidas per the studies conducted by scientists and tax eonomists of Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)
- We can see the details of discovery in ‘Plant Discoveries 2013’, ‘Plant Discoveries 2014’ published by BSI and ‘Animal discoveries 2013’, ‘Animal Discoveries 2014’ by ZSI.
- Two species of reptiles have been located for the first time in the country, namely ‘Boiga flaviviridis‘ in Berahampur, Odisha and ‘Rhinophis goweri’ located in Noolathu Kombai, Bodamalai hills.
- India ranks among the top ten species rich nations in the world and is known for its rich biological diversity and high endemism.
- All endangered species are protected under section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 to know that any species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in the near future as threatened species, and prohibit or regulate their collection.
- As per BSI, India has about 47,791 species of plants, and as per ZSI India has over 96,000 species of animals.
Sports
Nanjappa wins India’s sixth shooting quota for Rio Olympics
- India’s Prakash Nanjappa who is 39 years old has earned a quota place for the 2016 Rio Olympics after getting eighth position in the finals of 50-metre men’s pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
- Nanjappa who is a Bangalore based shooter is the sixth shooter to have earned the country a quota place for next year’s quadrennial extravaganza
- He ranked 52nd in the world, with 567 points, he turned out to be the second-best athlete in the qualifications.
- He also won a silver and bronze each at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Asian Games in Incheon.
- Nanjappaalso won a bronze medal in the 2013 ISSF World Cup in Changwon, South Korea, in the 10 metre air pistol event suffered from a paralytic attack the same year in the right side of his face, during the World Cup in Granada.
- Following his recovery, in October 2013, Nanjappa won the silver medal in the 50 metre pistol event in the Asian Air Gun Championship .
Important Days
World Youth Day 2015
- World Youth Day (WYD) is a worldwide encounter with the Pope which is typically celebrated every three years in a different country.
- World Youth Day(WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Roman Catholic Church.
- The most recent WYD was celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 23rd to 28th, 2013 and the next World Youth Day will be held in Krakow, Poland in 2016.
- Theme: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
World Elephant Day
- World Elephant Dayis an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world’s elephants.
- The goal of World Elephant Day is to create awareness around the urgent plight of African and Asian elephants, and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants.
- In a paper issued by the South African Institute of International Affairs, researcher Ross Harvey states that over 100 000 elephants were illegally killed between 2010 and 2012.
Click here to view: Current Affairs August 2015
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