Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 22′ 2017

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  1. Dharmendra Kumar appointed as DG, Railway Protection Force

Dharmendra Kumar has appointed as the Director General, Railway Protection Force, Railway Board. Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG.

The appointment of Shri Dharmendra Kumar will be effective from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

  1. Uber India appoints Vishpala Reddy as Chief People’s Officer

The US-based cab aggregator, Uber has roped in former American Express executive Vishpala Reddy as the Chief People’s Officer for its India and South Asia operations.

With over 17 years of experience, Reddy will also focus on enhancing diversity and inclusion by developing programmes to foster an equal opportunity workplace at Uber as part of her role.

  1. Prakash Javadekar Launches Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat’ Initiative

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar has said the Modi Government aimed at strengthening the education sector in the country through empowerment of general education.

 “Ensuring quality education for all is one of the main objectives of the Central Government.

We will eliminate the ‘aana, khana and jaana’ (come, eat and go) system.

Special training courses will be made mandatory for teachers to enhance the quality of teaching in schools.

  1. Cloud seeding begins in Karnataka

Karnataka Government launched clouding seeding Project Varshadhari in Bengaluru under which an aircraft will spray chemicals to induce rainfall.

It aims to condense small water particles by clouds (size less than 10 microns) to droplets of50 microns, which can constitute rains.

Cloud seeding (also known as weather modification technique) is an artificial way to induce moisture in the clouds so as to cause a rainfall.

The cloud seeding project is an experimental project that will cover Bengaluru, Gadag and Yadgir districts of the state.

  1. NITI Aayog to launch “Mentor India” Campaign

NITI Aayog will launch the Mentor India Campaign, a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs, established across the country as a part of the Atal Innovation Mission.

CEO NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant will unveil the online nationwide initiative in the capital on 23rd August. Mentor India is aimed at maximizing the impact of Atal Tinkering Labs, possibly the biggest disruption in formal education globally.

 The idea is to engage leaders who will nurture and guide students in the Atal Tinkering Labs. These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, and mentors are expected to be enablers rather than instructors.

  1. Home Minister Rajnath Singh launches digital police portal

A digital police portal under the CCTNS project, which aims to create a national database of crimes and criminals, launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The portal is a smart policing initiative of the Government to provide services to citizens and aid efficient police investigation.

It is a portal of a platform for citizens to file online crime related complaints and also request for antecedent verification.

  1. IOC to Invest Rs 52,000 cr in Paradip Refinery Post Pact with Odisha Govt

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will invest about Rs 52,000 crore in expanding Paradip refinery and setting up petrochemical complex after the Odisha government agreed to restore part of tax incentives.

The state government has agreed to give Rs 700 crore per annum of an interest-free loan for 15 years to make up for the withdrawn incentive of 11-year deferment on payment of sales tax on Paradip refinery products sold in the state.

  1. NABARD sanctions Rs 1,350-cr loan to Rajasthan govt

The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned a loan assistance of Rs 1,349.55 crore to the Rajasthan government for creation of rural infrastructure in the state under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

The sanction includes assistance for construction of two rural drinking water supply projects, strengthening/ rehabilitation of 1,614 rural roads and modernisation of three major irrigation projects

  1. ONGC board approves HPCL takeover of 51.11 per cent stake

The board of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) given ‘in-principle’ approval to acquire government’s 51 (point) 11 percent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.

They approved the sale of its 51.11 percent stake in oil refiner HPCL to India’slargest oil producer ONGC.

HPCLis a Government of India Enterprise with a Navratna Status, and a Forbes 2000 and Global Fortune 500 company.

 Dinesh K Sarraf is the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).

  1. First regional centre of NDB opens in S Africa

The first regional centre of the New Development Bank, set up by India and other BRICS nations, was officially opened by South African President Jacob Zuma and the bank’s Indian head K V Kamath.

The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) with an initial authorised capital of the bank is USD 100 billion.

  1. ICMR, Min of Health sign pact with S Koreas IVI for vaccine

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Ministry of Health inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Vaccine Institute.

The signing of the MoU is a continuation of India’s partnership with IVI to provide safe, effective and affordable vaccines for people around the world.India is a vaccine industry powerhouse that supplies 60% of the world’s vaccines.

IVI is Seoul (South Korea) based international nonprofit organization devoted to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines.

  1. Tata Power JV synchronises 186 MW hydro project in Georgia

Tata Power its joint venture company Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC (AGL) synchronized 186 MW Shuakhevi Hydro Project in Georgia.

AGL is a Tata Power joint venture with Norway’s Clean Energy Invest AS Norway (Clean Energy) and IFC InfraVentures (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

It is is the largest hydro power plant to be built in Georgia over the past 50 years, and its investment cost exceeded USD 420 million.

  1. FDI jumps 37% to $10.4 billion during April-June 2017

The Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country grew by 37 percent to USD 10.4 billion during the first quarter of the current financial year.

According to the figures of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), India had received USD 7.59 billion FDI during April-June 2016-17.

The main sectors which attracted the highest foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. FDI is a major source of non-debt financial resource for the economic development of India.

  1. Android Oreo released by Google

Keeping up its tradition of naming its Android upgrades with delectable desserts, Google has launched its version 8.0 of the operating system as Android Oreo.

The Oreo boasts of a two times faster boot speed, autofill option, and a longer battery life.The new update comes with a Picture-in-Picture feature that allows the user to see two apps simultaneously.

  1. National Sports Awards 2017 announced

The Sports Ministry announced the National Sports Awards on 22 August 2017.

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2017.

Selection Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Justice C.K. Thakkar (Former Judge Supreme Court of India, Chief Justice of High Court of Himachal and Bombay).

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