August 23 & 24 – Current Affairs Quick Gyan

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.

Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.

Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!

APPOINTMENTS

P D Gupta appointed VC of Homi Bhabha National Institute

Eminent scientist P D Gupta was appointed as Vice Chancellor of Mumbai-based Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI). He has been appointed to the post for five years, an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training. The HBNI is an aided institution of the Department of Atomic Energy and is a deemed to be university under the UGC Act.

Quick Link – P D Gupta

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Two Indian-American women named in White House Fellow programme

Two Indian-American women have been selected for the prestigious White House Fellow programme that offers firsthand experience of working at the highest levels of the US federal government. Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi from California and physician Tina R Shah from Chicago are among the 16 White House Fellows appointed from across the nation for the year 2016-17, . Shah is a pulmonary and critical care physician-scientist focused on transforming health care delivery for patients with chronic diseases.

Quick Link – White House Fellow programme

Rahane, Lalita, Shiva Thapa to get Arjuna Award

Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, athlete Lalita Babar, and boxer Shiva Thapa, along with 12 other sportspersons will be conferred with the Arjuna Award, a government press release declared. Para-athlete Sandeep Singh Mann and deaf wrestler Virender Singh will also be awarded the sporting honour, which constitutes a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a medal, and a citation.

Quick Link – Arjuna Award

Top 10 Richest Countries in World: In Wealthiest Countries List India is 7th

In the list of 10 Richest Countries in World, India is ranked 7th and they have beaten Canada at 8th, Australia at 9th and Italy at 10th. This report is made by new wealth world and this is governed by Capegemini. America in at the first place and second place in this list is occupied by China. Due to the huge population of India it was able to make a place in the list of the richest countries of world. With the population of 21 million the ranking of Australia is better than India.

Quick Link – Richest Countries

Ketan Mehta to pick India’s Oscar entry

The Film Federation of India (FFI) has kick started the process to cherry pick the film, which will officially represent India at the 89th Academy Awards next year. And the deadline for submitting entries for the foreign film category Oscar is October 1. Ketan Mehta has been approached to head the 17-member jury which comprises technicians and artistes within the film industry.

Quick Link – Ketan Mehta

Hindi author Sunita Jain conferred with Vyas Samman award 2015

Hindi scholar and writer Sunita Jain was awarded the prestigious 25th Vyas Samman 2015 for her poetry collection “Kshama”.The book “Kshama” was published in 2008. West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi conferred the award on the scholar. The award instituted by the K K Birla Foundation carries a cash prize of Rs 2.50 lakh. It is given annually to outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen.

Quick Link – Sunita Jain

INDIAN AFFAIRS

President Pranab Mukherjee launches Akashvani Maitree channel

President Pranab Mukherjee launched Akashvani Maitree channel for Bengali listeners and its website, an initiative which will provide a platform for blending content both from India and Bangladesh and preserving Bengali culture. The channel will be broadcast from a state-of-the-art brand new high power 1000Kw DRM transmitter with a capacity to reach the entire length and breadth of Bangladesh through medium wave and will be also available globally on its website and mobile app.

Quick Link – Akashvani Maitree channel

Gujarat becomes sixth state to ratify GST bill

The Gujarat State Assembly ratified the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill in the absence of the Opposition party Congress. It has become the sixth State to pass the Bill, which requires ratification from at least 15 state legislatures before the President notifies the GST Council. The Gujarat Government had convened a special two-day monsoon session of the State Assembly to ratify the GST Bill.

Quick Link – Gujarat becomes sixth state to ratify GST bill

Maharashtra govt proposes internal security act

Maharashtra Government has proposed an internal security act to deal with the challenges of terrorism and communal and caste violence. The proposed legislation, ‘Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act, 2016,’ would be the first such state-level act for internal security which will give more power to the police department if implemented.

Quick Link – Internal security act

Govt mulls ban on cash transactions over Rs 3 lakh

Government is examining SIT’s recommendation of banning cash transactions of over Rs.3 lakh in a bid to clamp down on black money in the economy, CBDT Chairperson Rani Singh Nair said. The move follows Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money recommending banning cash transactions of Rs.3 lakh and above and restricting cash holding with individuals and industry to Rs.15 lakh to curb illegal wealth in the country.

Quick Link – SIT bans on cash transactions over Rs 3 lakh

Delhi To Get All-New Aerospace Museum

Delhi will soon have a sprawling new Aerospace Museum close to the international airport focused mainly on Nation’s rich aviation history. New Aerospace Museum is not only meant to preserve the glorious tradition of the IAF but also to create awareness in general public about India’s rich Aerospace heritage. A proposal for new Air Force Aerospace Museum was cleared by Ministry of Defence and final financial sanction on the Detailed Project Report is awaited.

Quick Link – Aerospace Museum

Madhya Pradesh Assembly passes GST Bill

The Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill. MP became the seventh state in the country to ratify the historic tax amendment bill. Before Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have already passed the bill in their respective assemblies. The bill has been passed with an aim to make India a common market in terms of uniform tax treatment of trade and commerce across states.

Quick Link – MP passes GST Bill

FOREIGN RELATIONS

PM Modi Afganistan president Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurate the restore stor palace in Kabul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday jointly inaugurated the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul through video conferencing. During the video conference, Prime Minister Modi assured that India’s 1.25 billion citizens would always be on Afghanistan’s side in its quest to establish regional peace, security and stability. The Stor palace has been the setting for many momentous historical events.

Quick Link – Stor palace

India, Germany sign pact on vocational training

Deepening collaboration on skill development, India and Germany signed an agreement that aims to foster conditions that will help create and improve workplace-based vocational training in India’s industrial clusters. German technical assistance will be used to enhance industry institute partnerships between Indian and German organizations, build capacity of local training institutions and foster industry linkages which will help adapt elements of the German dual system into the Indian context.

Quick Link – India Germany vocational training

BANKING AND FINANCE

Punjab National Bank makes locker visiting facility free

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) becomes the first public sector bank to make locker visiting facility free for its customers. The lender had earlier allowed 12 free visits to the lockers per customer in a year. The new rule, which eliminates an additional fee charged by the bank during locker visits, has been introduced from August 1, 2016. PNB used to charge Rs. 50 per locker visit once a customer crossed the limit of 12 visits specified under the bank’s rules regarding locker operations.

Quick Link – Punjab National Bank

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Pfizer buys cancer drug firm Medivation For $14 bn

The US-headquartered pharma major Pfizer Inc has entered into an agreement to acquire Medivation Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing small molecules for oncology, for a total enterprise value of approximately $ 14 billion. Pfizer and Medivation can bring the full force of our combined research and resources to combat two of the most common cancers, as well as speed cures and make accessible breakthrough medicines to patients, redefining life with cancer.

Quick Link – Pfizer buys Medivation INC

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Apple acquires personal health startup Gliimpse

Apple has reportedly acquired health data startup Gliimpse, a company that collects and combines disparate threads of personal health info. Fast Company reports that the acquisition went down earlier this year, but there has yet to be any confirmation on the part of Gliimpse. Gliimpse was founded back in 2013 by seasoned entrepreneur Anil Sethi, who used to work as a systems engineer for Apple back in the 80s. He went on to sell Sequoia Software in 2001 to Citrix Systems in a cash transaction worth more than $180 million.

Quick Link – Health startup Gliimpse

New species confirmed 16 years after discovery

A new species of sea creature, named Nudibranchs, was recently confirmed in Australia, 16 years after it was first observed. Previously mistaken for sea slugs due to early shedding of shells, the soft-bodied organisms are distinguished from other species on the basis of size, anatomy, colouring and distribution and have been nicknamed “butterflies of the sea”.

Quick Link – Nnew species of sea creature

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

World’s first leprosy vaccine developed in India

G.P Talwar, the founder-director of National Institute of Immunology (NII), has developed a first-of-its-kind, exclusive and indigenous leprosy vaccine in India.The vaccine, my cobacterium indicus pranii, has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department of the US.

Quick Link – World’s first leprosy

OBITUARY

Mathrubhumi former editor K K Sreedharan Nair passed away

Mathrubhumi former editor K K Sreedharan Nair passed away . He was 86. The end came at a private hospital in Kochi. After an illustrious career spanning over six decades, Sreedharan Nair had retired from service on June 8, 2015. The posts of senior sub editor, chief sub editor, news editor and deputy editor. For 10 years from 1990, he served as the editor of Mathrubhumi daily.

Quick Link – K K Sreedharan Nair

SR Nathan former Longest-serving singapore president passed Away

Indian-origin former Singapore President Sellapan Ramanathan popularly known as S R Nathan died after suffering a stroke. A veteran public servant, 92-year-old Nathan passed away peacefully at Singapore General Hospital. He was the sixth and longest-serving President of Singapore and served two terms from 1999 to 2011. He was honoured by the Outstanding Member of the South Asian Diaspora award for his dedicated and notable work in forging closer ties with India

Quick Link – SR Nathan

SPORTS

Gujarat to host 2016 kabaddi world cup

The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup will be held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from October 7 to 22, the international federation said. Gujarat will play host to 12 kabaddi teams from USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan and Kenya, besides hosts India. The Kabaddi World Cup matches will be held in Ahmedabad’s upcoming state-of-the-art stadium.

Quick Link – 2016 kabaddi world cup

Athletes fair play award for sportsmanship

The International Fair Play Committee (CIFP), with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), presented them with Fair Play awards at the Olympic Clubin the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro for two separate acts of selflessness and exemplary sportsmanship. The D’Agostino and Hamblin story is one of humanity and sacrifice which has already captured the hearts of people across the globe.

Quick Link – Fair play award


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