Current Affairs Today – August 6 2016

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu Unveils Swachh Survekshan-2017 for 500 cities
With an idea to make competitive environment to make the cities clean and expedite the Swachh Bharat Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu launched Swachh Survekshan-2017 for 500 cities in New Delhi on August 6.
Swachh Survekshan:-
In order to facilitate the reach of this scheme to the living population, the Central Minister launched several schemes such as,
♦ Swachh Survekshan guide book,
♦  Swachh Survekshan ideas book,
♦ Manual of Municipal Solid Waste Management,
♦ Self-Assessment Tool,
♦ A short film on Swachh Survekshan,
♦ Toll-free number 1969 and
♦ A mobile Swachhta app.
Shri Venkaiah Naidu also launched ‘Asli Tarakki’ campaign highlighting the need for construction of toilets.

AAI to host a Global Conference on Aluminum in Bubhaneshwar in February, 2017
i. Aluminium Association of India (AAI) would host the three-day global event from from February 15 to 17, 2017 keeping in mind the emergence of bauxite-rich Odisha as the aluminium capital of India.
ii. Aluminium Association of India (AAI) shall host the International Conference on Aluminium (INCAL) in Bhubaneswar.
iii. with more than half the bauxite reserves of the country and gigantic presence of Nalco, Hindalco and Vedanta, Odisha has emerged as the aluminium capital of India,.
iv. It is expected that more than 1500 exhibitors and 2000 delegates, with logistic support from Reed Exhibitions of Germany. This is also an occasion to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Odisha.
v. National Aluminium Company Limited,(NALCO) has units inOdishaat places like Angul and Damanjodi. It was incorporated as a public sector enterprise of the Ministry of Mines, Government of India in 1981. It is Asia‘s largest and the sixth largest, integrated aluminum complex, encompassing bauxite mining, ore fining, aluminum smelting and casting, power generation, rail and port operations. It is noted that  Nalco Headquarters is in Bubhaneshwar, Odisha.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje laid the foundation of 14 projects worth Rs 2,229 Crore.
i. To make the Jaipur city as a Wonder City within next two years, RajasthanChief MinisterVasundhara Raje laid the foundation of 14 projects worth Rs 2,229 Crore.
ii. She laid the foundation for 14 projects worth Rs. 2,229 crore including Rejuvenation Project of Dravyavati River at Birla Auditorium in Jaipur.
iii. Those 14 projects include,
1.Construction of Elevated Road from LIC Building to Sodala,
2.RoB at Sitapura, Dantli and Jahota,
3.Engineering Staff Training Institute,
4.Expansion of Bridge near World Trade Park,
5.Project for Development of 100 parks,
6.Kishanbagh Forestry Project,
7.Galtagate Forestry Project,
8.200 Bio-Diversity Forest,
9.Silvan Park Phase-2,
10.Global Centre of Excellence,
11.Smart Solution Phase-2,
12.Light House and
13.Shankara Eye Hospital Project.
14.Rajasthan government has initiated to bring back the lost grandeur of this life line of Jaipur. Jaipur Development Authority, Tata Projects Ltd. and Shanghai Urban Construction Group will complete this ambitious project of rejuvenation worth Rs. 1676 crores.and the project is scheduled to complete by 2018.
iv. It is noted that on Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) the government agencies and people of Jaipur will start mass cleaning drive in Jaipur city.
About Rajasthan :
♦ Capital – Jaipur,
♦ CM – Vasundhara Raje
♦ Governor – Kalyan Singh.

IIT Jammu inaugurated by prakash Javadekar
i. Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the Indian Institute of Technology transit campus in Jammu.
ii. In the inauguration function the Minister earmarked Rs 100 crore for NIT, Srinagar under a special plan this year to facilitate research and development.
iii. For the Jammu IIT campus 159 hectare at village Jagti has been allotted and construction of transit campus spread over 25 acres.
iv. In the Academic year in the campus a total of 90 students have been enrolled at IIT Jammu-30 each in computer science and engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Telangana partners with ISRO to monitor water resources
i. Telangana Irrigation Department signed a MoU with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to avail Water Resources Information System (TWRI) online with ISRO’s Bhuvan geo-platform to monitor the depth and quantity in all water sources.
ii. The MoU was signed between the Telangana Irrigation Minister Harish Rao and ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar.
iii. Hyderabad based NRSC will make available a framework for every irrigation system on the Bhuvan satellite visualization that captures every dam, barrage, main canal and other resources up to field channels.
Telangana:
♦ Capital: Hyderabad
♦ Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan
♦ Chief Minister: Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao

Goa Assembly passes Bill to replace Portuguese-era civil code
i. Goa State Assembly unanimously passed Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Bill, 2012 which will replace the Portuguese-era civil code with regards to property matters and notary laws.
ii. The Bill to consolidate various provisions of succession, inventory in property matters and notaries  into one complete, rational and integrated legislation. This is the first-of-its kind legislation passed.
iii. The Bill was tabled by the Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza aimed in the need to take into account the social changes and situations arising from the fact, Goa is now a state and Goans are citizens of India Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961.

Government eyes GST roll-out by April 1, 2017: Jaitley
i. Union government is mulling to roll out the ambitious GST Bill from next fiscal i.e. by April 2017 says Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
ii. The bill will improve the ease of doing business and also prices of some goods and commodities may come down in India.
iii. On the road to implement the bill the Centre will take simple majority nod form the states, after it would form a GST council.
iv. The GST Council comprises representatives of the Centre and states will study the revenue requirements and fix the tax limit.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India is riskier for business than Bangladesh, according to this index
Verisk Maplecroft has released a list of countries for the business opportunities based on the civil unrest and peace prevalence in the countries called the “Civil Unrest Index“. Pathetidally India ranked 4th in this list preceded by Syria, Yemen and Libya.
The complete List:-
This list determines the ease of business doing in the country. The Top 10 pathetic Rankings are as follows,

BANKING & FINANCE

Government fixes an inflation target of 4 percent for five years
i. The Union government have come with the notification that tabled in the Lok Sabha intends 4 per cent inflation with the tolerance of 2 percent (±) for the next five years till March 31, 2021
ii. The move is directed to the monetary policy framework agreement with the Reserve Bank of India.
iii. The, center’s notification comes upon the section 45ZA of RBI Act, 1934, in consultation with the bank Central Bank.
iv. Earlier NDA government went into a Monetary Policy agreement with the RBI in 2015 to frame policy interest rates and aim to bring inflation below 6 per cent by January 2016.

Axis Bank ready with UPI app, to tie-up with Freecharge
i. Mumbai based Private sector lender Axis Bank has announced tie up with the Mobile recharging platform Freecharge and also said the bank is ready with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app.
ii. The Application powered by UPI architecture called Axis Pay App can be used by any other banks customer also would make the transactions easier.
iii. Unified Payments Interface enables multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application of any participating bank, integrating several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into a single stop solution.
iv. The System UPI was launched by the RBI governor Raguram Rajan in April this year.

BUSINESS

IBM, Apple open first global development hub in India
i. American tech majors IBM and Apple jointly launched a global development hub called Garage for iOS apps in Bengaluru to work with their Design locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cupertino in the US and Toronto in Canada.
ii. The hub Garage will help the clients to complete digital mobility projects as quickly as possible as well as to spur the digital transformation in India.
iii. In the tech Garage hub in Bengaluru as many as 22 inter-disciplinary teams working by end-to-end Developing operations.
iv. Earlier IBM has unveiled IBM Mobile First for iOS Garage for building mobile apps for the enterprise.

GIPCL signs PPAs with SECI for solar power projects
i. Gujarat Industries Power Company (GIPCL) has signed pact with the Solar Energy Corporation of India by power purchase agreements (PPAs) mode for solar power projects in Gujarat.
ii. The Power major GIPCL had emerged as a successful bidder in the e-reverse, upon that it has signed PPAs with Solar Energy Corporation to set up 2×40 MW Solar Power Projects in Gujarat Solar Park under National Solar Mission (NSM).
National Solar Mission:
♦ The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is intended to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenges.
♦The program launched by Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2010. The target is 100 GW by 2022 under the Mission.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

CARE Ratings names Mokashi MD
i. Mumbai based Credit Analysis and Research Ltd (CARE Ratings) has appointed Rajesh Mokashi as the Managing Director & CEO.
ii. The Appointment is was named by Board of Directors, It also comes with subject to approval at the ensuing Annual General Meetin.
iii. He has his career in CARE 1993 means since the inception of the firm, also has over 30 years diverse experience.
iv. Before joining to CARE he had worked with Otis Elevator Company India Ltd, DSP Financial Consultants and Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd.

Mercedes-Benz India appoints Michael Jopp as it new Vice President
i. German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz India Limited has appointed Michael Jopp as vice president, sales and marketing, effective 1 August.
ii. Jopp as its head of sales management is currently in charge of directing sales strategy and is responsible for sales performance and profitability for Mercedes-Benz Cars in Berlin, Germany.
iii. He has a rich experience in areas of sales, product and marketing management and an experience of close to two decades in the automobile industry in Germany and other international markets.
iv. He has been awarded An MBA from Goizueta Business School, and he also has close to two decades’ experience in the automobile industry in Germany and also in international markets, both on the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and distributor sides.
v. With his rich experience in the domain of sales and marketing in Mercedes-Benz Cars, Michael will continue the strong growth momentum of the Three Pointed Star in this highly competitive and dynamic market.
vi. Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the GermanDaimler AG founded in 1994, with headquarters in Pune,Maharashtra, India.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PM Narendra Modi launched a New PMO app at MyGov anniversary
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the new PMO app at a function organised by MyGov in New Delhi and the app would correspond to the website of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
ii. The government had launched a two-phased contest in March 2015 on MyGov platform for the development of PMO app. The contest was won by a team of six engineering students from Delhi Technical University and finally got to develop the app.
iii. It would be Modi’s first ‘town hall’ address in the country and the event will feature multiple panel discussions and the first ever ‘town hall’ to be addressed by the Prime Minister.
iv. It is noted that MyGov was launched by Modi in July 2014 to provide opportunity to the people to participate in multiple theme-based discussions and share their thoughts.
v. The platform has several groups like Clean Ganga, Girl Child Education, Digital India, Food Security and Healthy India.  MyGov has 3.52 million registered members, 1,82,000 submissions in 491 tasks and 3.40 million comments in 590 discussion themes.

China launched the Tiantong-01 – first satellite for mobile telecommunication
i. China successfully launched the first satellite for mobile telecommunication named the Tiantong-01 satellite at Southwestern China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, with the Long March-3B carrier rocket.
ii. Although the success of the launch was confirmed shortly after liftoff by Chinese state-run media, there was no official indication of the upcoming mission ahead of the event.Some witnesses confused the launch with an earthquake as they reported, via social media sites, rumbling and shaking windows.
iii. This telecommunication satellite will establish a mobile network with ground facilities, providing services for China, the Middle East, Africa and other areas.
iv. It is the first satellite of China’s home-made satellite mobile telecom system, and a key part of the country’s space information infrastructure. More geostationary satellites will be sent into orbit for the system.
v. Long March-3B carrier rocket was produced by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. It was the 232nd flight of the Long March series and the 36th launch of Long March-3B.
vi. The satellite, designated Tiantong-1 No.1, is first in the series. According to official media reports, the spacecraft is an S-Band mobile communications satellite developed by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and will be operated by China Telecom.
vii. It is noted that in late 2016, China plans to return to human space flight. Shenzhou-11, a planned crewed mission, is slated to lift off from Jiuquan and dock with China’s upcoming second space lab, Tiangong-2.

CSIR CFTRI Develops Nutrice Cream
i. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research run CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute –Mysuru jointly with Bengaluru based Oleome Biosolutions and M/s Dairy Classic Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd., has developed Nutrice Cream.
ii. The Nutrice cream is an Omega-3 and Vitamin-E enriched frozen nutritional dessert from vegetarian source that can be the source for health functions including brain development.
iii. The food will be a dietary source of Omega-3 (ω-3) fats, which are the Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA).
iv. The Nutrice food is best for children as it developes the brain and elder people which provides nutritional requirements.

SPORTS

Olympics 2016 opens with a glittering ceremony in Rio De Janerio
The Rio Games launched with a flamboyant spectacle headlined by supermodel Gisele Bundchen on August 5 as a doom-laden Olympic build-up gave way to an energetic party atmosphere at the fabled Maracana stadium.
2016 Rio Olympic Theme: Peace and Environment
Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil are headlining a show that’s heavy on samba drums and dancing, highlighting Brazil’s history and heritage. And the Parade of Nations kicked off with 207 delegations following their flag-bearers into Rio’s venerable Maracanã Stadium.
Indian Railways announces cash awards for its athlete who wins medal at Rio Olympics
♦ The gold Medalist – 1 crore
♦ The silver medallist – Rs 75 lakh
♦ Bronze winner – Rs 50 lakh.
♦ Athletes who manages a top-8 finish – Rs 30 lakh
♦ For mere participation Rs 5 lakh.
IOA announces cash award of 50 lakh rupees for gold medal winning athlete in Rio Olympics
The complete reward list by the IOA as follows,
♦ Rs 50 lakh – gold medal,
♦ Rs 30 lakh – silver and
♦ Rs 20 lakh – bronze.
The International Olympic Committee has approved 271 Russian athletes to compete in the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, after a doping scandal put Russian participation in this year’s games in doubt and this doping review eliminated 118 competitors.

IMPORTANT DAYS

It’s Hiroshima Day!
On this day in 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world’s first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.
i.On August 6, the U.S. dropped a uraniumgun-type atomic bomb (Little Boy) on the city of Hiroshima. American President Harry S. Truman called for Japan’s surrender 16 hours later, warning them to “expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth”.
ii. It has been 71 years since the attack, which killed almost 1,40,000 people. To mark the day, people across the world remembered the victims with chants of “Hiroshima never again.”
iii. The attack, and the subsequent one in Nagasaki in Japan, has left a deep scar in the memory of Japan and the world. U.S. President Barack Obama became the first president to visit the Hiroshima memorial on May 27, 2016, while in office.
iv. On August 15, nine days after the bombing of Hiroshima and theSoviet Union‘s declaration of war, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies. On September 2, it signed the instrument of surrender, effectively ending World War II.