Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 14 & 15′ 2017

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  1. Marconi Lifetime Award for Pune-born Stanford Prof

The US-based Marconi Society, dedicated to furthering scientific achievements in communications and the Internet, has conferred on legendary Stanford University professor, Thomas Kailath, its Lifetime Achievement Award.

This is only the sixth time in the society’s 43-year history that the award has been given. Professor Kailath is Hitachi America Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, at Stanford University (US).

The award recognizes Professor Kailath for his many transformative contributions to information and system science over six decades as well as his sustained mentoring and development of new generations of scientists.

  1. T J S George bags first Kesari Media Award

Veteran journalist T J S George has been chosen for the first Kesari Media Award, instituted by the Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust

The award comprises a purse of Rs 50,000, citation and a statuette designed by renowned artist Bhatathiri.

  1. Earthport appoints new India head

Earthport, which runs a network for cross-border payments, has appointed Sandeep Guptaas its head of India.

Gupta, who is based in Mumbai, will be responsible for leading the expansion of the business in the primary markets of India and Sri Lanka.

Earthport has appointed Sandeep Gupta as its head of India Earthport is a company which runs a network for cross-border payments.

Earthport is also recently announced its partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank.

  1. Tata Motors Group appoints P.B. Balaji as CFO

Tata Motors, India biggest automobile company, has appointed PB Balaji as its new group chief financial officer (CFO) who will take over the reins from CR Ramakrishnan.

Balaji, who will take over from November this year, has been working with Hindustan Unilever as its CFO since 2014. He started his career with Unilever in 1995.

  1. Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati given additional charge of Rajya Sabha TV

Shashi Shekhar Vempati, chief executive officer (CEO) at public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has been appointed as the chief of Rajya Sabha TV.

Founded in 2008, Rajya Sabha TV is owned and operated by Rajya Sabha and covers the proceedings of the upper house of the Parliament. Prasar Bharati runs Doordarshan television and All India Radio.

Vempati will replace Gurdeep Singh Sappal who has been serving as the CEO and editor-in-chief of Rajya Sabha TV since 2011. Sappal, also the officer on special duty to the vice-president of India, resigned earlier in July.

  1. Santosh Sharma Appointed CMD of Hindustan Copper Limited

Santosh Sharma was appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL). He is currently director (operations) in the same company.

The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment to the post for a period of five years.

Emandi Sankara Rao has been appointed as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd.

  1. Sankara Rao to be IFCI Chief Executive

IFCI Ltd, a government company, is set to have a new Managing Director & CEO in E Sankara Rao, who is currently Chief General Manager at India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL).

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has given its nod for the Department of Financial Services (DFS) proposal to appoint Emandi Sankara Rao as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of IFCI Ltd.

  1. Indian-American appointed to chair US energy commission

The White House has said that President Donald Trump has appointed Neil Chatterjee as chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The Indian-American was last week confirmed as a member of the FERC.

Chatterjee had previously been an energy policy advisor to US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

  1. Lalit Modi Resigns From Nagaur Cricket Association

Lalit Modi has resigned as the president of the Nagaur District Association, severing his ties with the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA).

The former IPL chairman and commissioner, expunged by the BCCI, had earlier refused to quit, prompting the cricket board to suspend the state association.

And even after CP Joshi became the RCA president in June, defeating Lalit Modi’s son Ruchir,the BCCI set the tainted cricket administrator’s complete ouster from the state unit as a precondition to release funds.

  1. Make in India Seminar Held in New Delhi

Second Seminar on ‘MAKE’ projects for Indian Army was held atIndia Habitat Centre, New Delhi jointly under aegis of Indian Army and Confederation of Indian Industry (Cll).

During the course of the seminar, a round table interaction of various Directorates of Integrated Headquarters of MoD (Army) with industry reps was also held at the same venue.

The seminar was attended by Senior Officers of the Army as well as from Ministry of Defence.

  1. PM Launches website to Honour Gallantry Award Winners

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a website to honour all the gallantry award winners since Independence.

Announcing the launch of the website http://gallantryawards.gov.in in a series of tweets, Mr. Modi said “the portal will preserve and tell the stories of our bravest men and women, civilians as well as armed forces personnel.”

“In remembrance of our heroes who have been awarded gallantry awards since Independence, launched the site http://gallantryawards.gov.in,”.

  1. Rajnath launches live Twitter wall on ‘Bharat Ke Veer’

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the live twitter wall for promoting Bharat Ke Veer portal on the eve of 71st Independence Day.

On the occasion, Mr Singh and Ministers of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju contributed their one month salary for Bharat Ke Veer corpus.

Mr Singh has handed over a cheque of 1.59 lakh rupees to the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in New Delhi.

  1. India’s first railways disaster management centre to come up near Bengaluru

Trains falling into rivers and coaches catching fire will be common sights in the country’s first ‘railways disaster management village’ expected to come up on the outskirts of Bengaluru by December next year.

A senior official of the railways ministry said “overaged rolling stock” will be used to replicate train accidents so that real time rescue operations could be carried out to improve such efforts.

  1. Maharashtra Chief Minister launches Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra an initiative providing job opportunities to unemployed youth in Mumbai.

There are various schemes like farmers weekly market, farmers mobile market and mother’s tiffin, under this Yuva Rojgar Kendra and Mumbaikars can get fresh and healthy food, as well as farm, produce procured directly from farmers.

This app was also launched by the Chief Minister.

BJP’s state president Raosaheb Danve, Mumbai president Ashish Shelar, Agriculture minister for state Sadabhau Khot were present on the occasion.

  1. Environment Minister launches ‘Gaj Yatra’ to mark World Elephant Day 2017

Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched ‘Gaj Yatra’ here today, a nationwide campaign to protect elephants on the occasion of World Elephant Day.

The campaign is planned to cover 12 elephant range states. World Elephant Day is an annual global event celebrated across the world on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of elephants.

The goal of World Elephant Day is to create awareness about the plight of elephants and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants.

  1. India’s first online course on Infusion Therapy launched

Infusion Nurses Society (INS) — a global authority in infusion therapy  launched India’s first online course on Infusion Therapy for nurses, under which it aims to train over 3,000 nurses in the vital medical procedure.

Announcing the initiative, which will boost nurses even in rural parts of India, INS said that utilising the reach and ease of the digital platform, the course will enable members to access the various infusion therapy modules and presentations through its website.

  1. India’s first aviation university to open in UP’s Rae Bareli

The country’s first aviation university at Fursatganj in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district is all set for inauguration on August 18.

Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, his deputy Jayant Sinha, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress vice-president and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi, among others are expected to attend the inaugural event.

  1. Odisha govt and Facebook launches ‘SheMeansBusiness’ programme

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched ‘She Means Business’ programme of Facebook for women entrepreneurs in Odisha.

Under the scheme 25, 000 women entrepreneurs and self-help group (SHG) members will be given training on digital marketing skills within next one year.

Odisha government’s partnership with Facebook aimed to reduce the digital divide and empower nearly 25,000 women entrepreneurs and SHGs.

  1. Lord Krishna-themed coin to be released by Chad on Janmashtami

A limited edition silver coin on Lord Krishna will be released on Janmashtami on August 15 by the Republic of Chad in commemoration of the 5,244th birth anniversary of the Hindu God.

This full-dimensional 3D coin weighs 100 grams and has been made of pure silver, numismatist Alok K Goyal, the designer of the coin.

  1. Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Shaurya’ commissioned in Goa

Indian Coast Guard ship “Shaurya”, the fifth in the series of six 105-metre offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) commissioned in Goa by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

The OPV, which draws 2,350 tonne and is propelled by 9100 kilowatt diesel engine, has been designed and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Ltd and is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machineries.

  1. 13 August 2017: Organ Donation Day

Organ Donation Day in India is celebrated on 13th of August every year by the people, government organizations and other related professions in order to motivate normal human beings to donate the organs as well as to understand the value of organ donation in the life of an individual.

The organ donor can be anyone of which the organ can be transplanted to the patient urgently requires.

  1. India-ASEAN Youth Summit in Bhopal from Aug 14-19

Over 100 delegates from 10 ASEAN countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – will participate in the India-ASEAN Youth Summit to be held in Bhopal from August 14-19.

A statement from the India Foundation said the think tank in collaboration with the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of youth affairs and sports will organise the first- of-its-kind event.

The exercise will mark the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership in the ongoing year and also the commemorative year’s theme of “Shared Values, Common Destiny“.

  1. India, Russia to Hold Major Tri-Service ‘Indra’ Combat Exercise in October

India and Russia will hold a mega war game in October involving their armies, navies and the air forces for the first time to further ramp up military ties.

It will be for the first time India will participate in a tri-services exercise with a foreign country with such a large scale participation by the Navy, the Army and the Air Force.

The exercise Indra, which will be held in Russia from October 19 to 29, will primarily focus on achieving coordination between forces of the two countries in a tri- services integrated theatre command scenario

  1. India, China to join Indian Ocean exercise

The Indian Navy would join the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in a maiden maritime search and rescue exercise to be chaired by Bangladesh at the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in November this year.

Bangladesh, the current Chair, is scheduling a maiden International Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) in November in the Bay of Bengal to be attended by ships and aircraft of the members and observers of the IONS

  1. UN declares Somalia free of polio

The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) was said had not recorded any case of polio disease in Somalia in the last three years, declaring the country polio free.

The WHO said the country recorded the last case of polio in 2014 in the central part of the country but has since then remained free of the paralyzing disease.

The UN health agency, however, warned Somalia remained vulnerable, calling for continued vaccination campaign, Xinhua reported.

  1. Nepal, China sign three pacts to boost energy, economic, technological ties

Nepal and China have signed three pacts to further boost their ties in power and energy sectors and undertake a feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country, including in the southern Terai plains.

The pacts were signed after visiting Chinese vice premier Wang Yang held discussions with Nepal’s deputy prime ministers Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar and Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

  1. First South Asian Youth Summit to be held in India

The first South Asian Youth Summit-2017 is all set to be organised in the Bhubaneswar City of Indian state of Odisha from September 17.

The four-day Summit would focus on a wide range of problems being faced by youths of South Asia and discuss their solutions.

Ministers of all eight SAARC member countries would participate in the Summit to discuss culture, tourism, peace and infrastructure development in South Asia as well as sustainable development goal adopted by the United Nations.

  1. Indian boxers clinch 10 medals at Serbian tournament

India won 10 medals, including two gold, in the 6th Golden Glove women’s Boxing Tournamentat Vojvodina, Serbia.

In all, India won two gold, four silver and four bronze medals. The gold-medalists were Jyoti(51kg) and Vanlalharitpuii(60kg).

The silver medals were clinched byAnjali(48kg),Sakshi(54kg), Ashtha (69kg) and Anupama (81kg)Mandeep (57kg), Nisha (64kg), Shruti (75kg) and Neha (81+kg) settled for bronze medals after losing in the semi-finals.

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