We are here for you to provide the important current affairs of August 30 2017 which have unique updates of all daily events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, India Today, Indian Express, Business Standard, all Government official websites. Our complete current affairs helps you to get more marks in Banking, insurance, UPSC, SSC, CLAT, Railway and all other competitive Exams.
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Indian Affairs
Cabinet Approvals on 30 August 2017
i. MoU by the Election Commission of India with the Election Management Bodies of other countries
ii. MoU with Myanmar for the Conservation of Earthquake-Damaged Pagodas at Bag
iii. Cabinet approves promulgation of GST (Compensation to States) Ordinance, 2017
iv. MoU on “India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund”
v. MoU between India and Brazil for cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics
vi. Cabinet apprised of jointly issue of postage stamps between India and Canada
vii. Cabinet approves equivalence of posts in PSUs, PSBs..…………Click here to view more detail
Narendra Modi’s visit in Rajasthan – August 2017
On 29th august,2017 Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Rajasthan to inaugurate few highway projects and to dedicate some to our nation along with road transport and highways minister Nithin Gadkari. He informed that his government is setting in a culture of completion of projects unlike previous governments. The assembly polls in Rajasthan is going to take place next year. PM Modi will also visit Pratap Gaurav Kendra which exhibits the valour and achievements of Maharana Pratap and pay his homage to the famous King of Mewar.
Highlights of his visit :
i. He laid foundation stone and inaugurated national highway projects worth Rs 15,000 crore.
ii. He dedicated 11 national highways to the nation. These highways cover a total length of 873 kms and inaugurated a suspension bridge built across the Chambal river at Kota, making it the first 6-lane cable suspended bridge in the Rajasthan. The bridge, 1.4 km in length, is constructed at a cost of Rs 278 crore at Kota. PM added that he is happy that his government is able to complete the dream project of Atal Bihari Vaipaiyee ,” Golden Quadrilateral”.…………Click here to view more detail
Rajnath Singh inaugurates YUVA a skill development programme of Delhi Police
The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the ‘YUVA’ – a skill development programme. It is an initiative taken by Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana on 29th of Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.Delhi Police has tied up with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) to provide the job-linked skilling for selected youths.
ii.A detailed exercise was conducted in all 13 districts of Delhi Police to select the youth in the age of 17-25 years for this training belonging to categories such as School dropouts, Juvenile offenders, Victims of crimes and mostly from the underprivileged colonies.
iii.As per the reports 2,269 candidates have been selected to be trained by 36 training partners in 45 skills in the next three months.
iv.A total of 32 police station buildings have been identified where Skill Development Centers would be opened.
v.The ‘YUVA’ initiative by Delhi Police aims to connect with youth by upgrading their skill as per their competencies.
vi.It will help them to get an employment under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna under the Ministry of Skill Development.
vii.NSDC and CII would give skill certificates to all participants on completion of the course and also help the youths get jobs under the PMKVY scheme.
UP govt decides to end interview in Government jobs
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has decided to close the process of holding interview for selection of candidates for the government jobs in all the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories announced on 29th of Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
ii.It has been decided with an aim to bring transparency in recruitment in government jobs.
iii.The state government has decided to do away with the interview in the recruitment of non-gazetted officers from Class II to IV but for recruitment of gazetted officers in Class II category, Interview will be a must.
iv.The chief minister has also given an assurance that the government will provide jobs to 10 lakh youths in Uttar Pradesh having skills.
Some of the other steps that have been decided in the meeting include:
i.It decided to fix the support price of a common variety of paddy at Rs 1550 per quintal and Rs 1590 per quintal for grade-A paddy.
ii.It approved the construction work of the Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan in Ghaziabad.
iii.The Bhawan will be developed with an aim to facilitate the pilgrims of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Sindhu Darshan Yatra and Chardham Yatra.
iv.The boundary of Nagar panchayat Bhawari in Kaushambi district will be increased and upgraded.
v.The cabinet also decided to expand the boundary of the Aligarh Nagar Nigam.
Aboutt Uttar Pradesh
Capital : Lucknow
CM : Yogi Adityanath
Governor : Ram Naik
West Bengal’s Gobindobhog rice gets geographical indication status
On august 29,2017, The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) has granted geographical indication (GI) status to Gobindobhog rice, a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal. The state has applied for GI status in the year 2015.
Gobindobhog rice: –
Gobindobhog rice is a short grain, white, aromatic, sticky rice having a sweet buttery flavour. It derives its name from principal ingredient usage in preparation of offerings to Govindajiu, the family deity of Setts of Kolkata. It is cultivated late and not much affected by rains. Its productivity per area is high, so farmers get better prices for Gobindobhog rice. It is primarily cultivated in southern basin of Damodar River and Khandaghosh blocks. Burdwan region is called “the rice bowl of Bengal”.
About Geographical Indication: –
GI tag is given for products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. It indicates its authenticity and only registered authorised users can use its name. Darjeeling tea was the first product that got GI tag in India.
About West Bengal
Governor : Keshari Nath Tripathi
Chief Minister : Mamata Banerjee (TMC)
Capital Kolkata : Kolkata
Official language : Bengali
International Affairs
Hurricane Harvey strikes USA,menaces Texas & Louisiana
Harvey is one of the most destructive storms in US history thrashed Texas for the consecutive fifth day.
Key Points:
i. It has claimed 30 lives and left thousands homeless.
ii. Houston’s mayor imposed an overnight time curfew to prevent looting and opportunistic crimes.
iii. Harvey was gearing up for another landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border.
iv. One Indian student has died after he nearly drowned in a swollen lake in the US state of Texas where Hurricane Harvey caused havoc.
v. The National Weather Service reported that Houston has already received more than 42 inches of rain due to Harvey.
Banking & Finance
Canara HSBC Oriental Life Insurance Company (CHOICE) launches ‘PoS-Easy Bima Plan’
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company (CHOICE) has launched with a ‘Point-of-Sale’ Easy Bima Plan targeted at the mass-market segment.
Key Points:
i.The product ‘PoS – Easy Bima Plan’ is the first PoS product for the company. It will provide life cover and also returns all premiums paid during the payment term on survival till maturity.
ii.It is specially designed to provide an affordable and hassle free protection, to take care of the needs of your loved ones.
iii.The affordable premiums start from Rs.1,000 annually and there is inbuilt double life cover in case of accidental death.
iv.It would be available in the bank branches of Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) in the next two months.
v.The product will also be available online in next few months.
Ujjivan SFB receives scheduled bank status from RBI
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has been included in the second scheduled to the RBI Act 1934 on 30th Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.This grants the ‘Scheduled Bank’ status to Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’ from the date of notification.
ii.With this Ujjivan Small Finance Bank can issue certificate of deposits.
iii.Ujjivan SFB commenced its operations as a Small Finance Bank with effect from February 1, 2017.
iv.Currently, Ujjivan SFB has 65 full-fledged brick and mortar branches in eight states and two Union Territories.
v.It plans to convert 160 existing branches and 29 new Unbanked Rural Centres (URCs) by the end of FY 2017-18 and the remaining branches will be converted over a period of two years in line with RBI approval.
Business
NTPC signs Rs. 3,000-cr term loan agreement with ICICI Bank
NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank for partially funding its capital expenditure signed on 29th Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.The loan has a tenure of 15 years and it will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC.
ii.NTPC commissioned 3,845 mw capacity and added 2,190 mw to its commercial capacity during 2016-17.
iii.The installed capacity of the group is 51,671 mw as on31st July and has over 28,000 mw of capacity under construction.
About ICICI Bank
ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) is an Indian multinational banking and financial services.
ICICI Bank headquartered is in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, with its registered office in Vadodara.
Founded 1994
Chairman: Mr. M. K. Sharma
MD & CEO: Mrs. Chanda Kochhar
Apps Launched by ICICI
iMobile
Pockets
EazyPay
Unicity launches world’s first ever Genomeceuticals range of products in India
Unicity International has launched world’s first ever Genomeceutical (gene controlling) range of products to India.
Key Points:
i.Unicity International headquartered in Orem, Utah, United States.
ii.Unicity uses advanced Genomecutical technology in its products to support proper gene expression.
iii.It helps in maintaining healthy body function at their most basic levels.
iv.Unicity is currently researching an extensive range of products by leveraging this technology.
v.Genomeceutical is a ground-breaking, patent-pending, technology whereby certain secondary metabolites found in nature and it can help maintain the gene response whenever needed by the body to help in maintaining overall metabolic health.
Centre clears 100% strategic sale of CEL
On 30th august ,2017, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management(DIPAM) has approved a 100% disinvestment through strategic sale along with transfer of management control of Central Electronics Ltd. (CEL).
About Central Electronics Ltd (CEL): –
CEL was incorporated as CPSE in 1974 under the administrative control of Ministry of Science and Technology. It was wholly owned by the government of India. The government plans to engage an advisor from a consulting firm, investment banker or a merchant banker or a financial institution, for providing advisory services and managing the disinvestment process.
Alternative mechanism: –
The strategic disinvestment of CEL will take place through new alternative mechanism which was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in August 2017. The alternative mechanism was approved for pursuing the government’s strategic sale disinvestment programme. This mechanism consists of finance minister, minister for road transport & highways and the minister for the concerned administrative ministry.
Difference between strategic disinvestment and ordinary disinvestment:
In Strategic disinvestment, significant proportion of a Public-Sector Unit’s (PSU) share and the management control goes to a private sector which is its strategic partner. In ordinary disinvestment, management of PSU is retained with Government.
Awards & Recognition
NITI Aayog announces 12 winners of the Women Transforming India Awards 2017
Union Minister of Textiles, Information, and Broadcasting Smriti Irani will present Women Transforming India Awards 2017 a prestigious award to 12 incredible women winners at an event in New Delhi on 29th of Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.The award has been launched by NITI Aayog, in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov.
ii.It has been awarded to recognize the transformational impact of work undertaken by women across India.
iii.This year’s campaign “to promote equal opportunity of women” received around 3000 entries from across India.
TOP 6 CONTESTANTS
Laxmi Agarwal: Attacked in 2005 in broad daylight at the age of 15, Laxmi Aggarwal is today a champion of violence against women. She has filed public interest litigations in India’s highest court to restrict the sale of acid.
Safeena Husain: The founder and executive director of Educate Girls, a non- profit organization working for girls’ education, Safeena Husain has worked to bring education to some of India’s most backward districts.
Kamal Kumbhar: Broke free from the shackles of poverty and a suffocating marriage to create a micro-enterprise network, enabling women like herself to realise their dreams of a brighter tomorrow.
Subasini Mistry: After losing her husband at a young age, Subasini Mistry saved for two decades to build a hospital for the needy.
Arunima Sinha: Is the first female amputee to scale the highest mountain in the world.
Jamuna Tudu: Along with her band of women activists, Jamuna Tudu has conserved 50 hectares of forest land around her village in Jharkhand, taking on encroachers with little more than bows and arrows and courage……………Click here to view more detail
Appointments & Resigns
Dara Khosrowshahi is Uber’s new CEO
Dara Khosrowshahi has accepted the position of Uber CEO after he was selected by the company’s board announced on 29th Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.Uber Technologies has finally announced the appointment of Dara Khosrowshahi as its new chief executive officer.
ii.He has selected after Travis Kalanick resigned from the position of chief executive.
iii.Dara will join the company from 30th August.
About Uber
Founded: March 2009
HQ: San Francisco California
Uber Technology Inc. is an American technology company and It develops markets and operates the Uber car transportation and food delivery mobile apps.
Dr. R.K. Raghavan appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Cyprus
Dr. R.K. Raghavan has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Cyprusannounced on 30th Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.He served as a former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director from January 4, 1999 to April 30, 2001.
ii.He is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1963 batch.
iii.Mr. Raghavan has an MA in Politics and Public Administration from the Madras University.
iv.He has also done an M. S. in Criminal Justice from Temple University, Philadelphia and a Ph.D. in political science.
v.He was a Visiting Fellow at Rutgers University and the Harvard Law School.
vi.He has served as the director of Tamil Nadu Fire Service and as the director-general of the Tamil Nadu State Vigilance Directorate.
About Cyprus
Capital: Nicosia
President: Nicos Anastasiades
Currency: Euro
PV Sindhu to be brand ambassador for Bridgestone India
Tyre major Bridgestone India has announced badminton player and Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu as itsfirst brand ambassador announced on 30th Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.She will be a part of three year agreement. Sindhu will be included in Bridgestone’s activations around its Worldwide Olympic Partnership.
ii.Bridgestone India is a subsidiary of the world’s largest tyre and Rubber Company and also a Worldwide Olympic Partner.
About PV Sindhu
i.Sindhu is among the world’s leading professional badminton players who recently bagged a silver medal at the World Badminton Championship in Glasgow.
ii.She had also received Padma Shri and became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal in the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
About Bridgestone Corporation
Bridgestone Corporation is a multinational auto and truck parts manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi.
Founded on 1 January 1931
Headquarters: Kyobashi, Tokyo, Japan
Science & Technology
Athletes can identify prohibited medicines with “Pharma Jan Samadhan” app
Drug pricing regulator NPPA has tied up with National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). It will help athletes tounderstand medicines that could contain prohibited substances in sports through its app Pharma Jan Samadhan.
Key Points:
i.The two regulators signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 29th Aug 2017.
ii.Through NPPAs app every consumer can know ingredients in a medicine and it will make it easy for athletes to keep away from medicines that have prohibited substances.
iii.National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority foundation day also held in 29th of Aug 2017.
iv.This MoU plays a vital role in athletes and general public life by understanding which medicines they can take or cannot take and which medicines contain prohibited substances.
About NADA
National Anti-Doping Agency also referred to as NADA is the national organisation responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring the dopingcontrol program in sports in all its forms in India
NADA deals with adopting and implementing anti-doping rules and policies which conform to the World Anti-Doping agency, cooperates with other anti-doping organisations and promotes anti-doping research and education.
Sports
Kerela CM launches FIFA U-17 World Cup Logo for Kochi Venue
Kerala Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan has launched the host city logo for Kochi. This time Kochi is selected as one of the venues of FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 announced on 29th Aug 2017.
Key Points:
i.The logo represents and reflects Kochi’s identity and will be a valuable tool in linking the local community in a global World Cup.
ii.The FIFA U-17 World Cup will have India official emblem, it will form a crucial link in the promotions and communications regarding the host city.
iii.The tournament will be hosted in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium of the city. It will host eight matches and will feature football powerhouses Brazil, Spain and Germany among others.
About 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the 17th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
It will be the first FIFA tournament hosted by India.
The tournament will be hosted by India between 6 and 28 October 2017.
The final will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 28 October 2017.
Important Days
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
On August 30th each year, The United Nations (UN) observes the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. On this day organizations such as the UN and Amnesty International play an active role in raising awareness that enforced disappearance is a crime and should not be used as a tool to deal with situations of conflict.
Enforced disappearance :
It is a strategy to spread terror within the society. It occurs when people are arrested, detained or abducted against their will and when governments refuse to disclose the whereabouts of these people. Enforced disappearance is a global problem and is not restricted to a specific region of the world.
It includes
- the ongoing harassment of human rights defenders, relatives of victims, witnesses and legal counsellors dealing with cases of enforced disappearance;
- States that are using counter-terrorist activities as an excuse for breaching their obligations;
- Special attention must also be paid to specific groups of especially vulnerable people, like children and people with disabilities.
In December 2010, the UN officially declared that it would annually observe the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on August 30 each year, starting from 2011.It is a UN observance day and not a public holiday.
Small Industry Day
On 30th august every year small industry day is celebrated by ministry of Micro, Small &Medium Enterprises(MSME).
i.This celebration will support and promote small industries. These industries play a major role in boosting state’s financial health.
ii.The trend of celebrating “SSI (Small Scale Industry) day” started in 2001. Celebrating ‘Industries Day’ will help districts to exhibit their growth potential and opportunities.
