Current Affairs August (Part-2)

101.  Dipa Karmakar, the Indian Gymnast, created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to enter the Olympic final at the Rio Olympic Centre.

102.  The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.  The theme for 2016 International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is 'Right to Education'.

103.  To mark the 75th anniversary of Quit India Movement, Maharashtra Government launched Quit India 2-from Swaraaj to Suraaj initiative.

104.  Apple has confirmed that it has bought US machine learning startup Turi as Silicon Valley giants focus on future rich with artificial intelligence.

105.  Non-life insurer Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd. has announced a bancassurance tie-up with Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank (SVCB).

106.  HDFC board has approved the merger of Max Life and Max Financial Services with its insurance arm HDFC Standard Life Insurance. It will create the biggest public sector life insurer.

107.  Mahindra Inter-trade entered a partnership with MSTC, a Government of India enterprise, to set-up country's first integrated auto recycling facility.

108.  Amsterdam-based human resource consulting firm Randstad Holdings has announced that it would acquire job portal Monster Worldwide for USD 429 million in cash.

109.  Human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila (44) ended her 16-year-long fast against Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and was granted bail by an Imphal court on Rs.10,000 personal bond.

110.  K M Hanumantharayappa has assumed charge as new Chairman of Central Silk Board, Union Ministry of Textiles, for a period of three years.  He succeeded N S Bissegowda.

111.  Two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp has reappointed Pawan Munjal as its Chairman, managing director, and chief executive for a period of five years.

112.  Former Arunachal Pradesh CM and Congress rebel Kalikho Pul passed away in Itanagar. He was 46 years old.

113.  Renowned Yoga Guru TKV Desikachar has passed away following a brief illness in Chennai. He was 78 years old.

114.  Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has added another feather to his cap by retaining the Commonwealth Chess championship crown.

115.  PM Narendra Modi has launched Yaad Karo Kurbani (remember the sacrifices) celebrations at the birthplace of freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad at Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh. It aimed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement (QIM) and 70 years of Independence.

116.  The first unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant has jointly dedicated to the nation by Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa, PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin through video conferencing.

117.  Niti Aayog has inked a pact with US Energy Information Administration (EIA)  to develop India's energy data agency.

118.  The government has decided to set up a committee which will consider all issues including foreign direct investment norms pertaining to the fast-growing e-commerce industry in the country. The committee will be headed by the NITI Aayog CEO Mr. Amitabh Kant.

119.  The local subsidiary of the Nasdaq-listed First Solar, First Solar Power India, has announced the commercial operation of 80 MW and 50 MW solar power plants in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

120.  The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a social media campaign to mark the Daughters Day to be celebrated on 11th August 2016 by tweeting a picture with her daughter-in-law and grand-daughter.

121.  China has launched a new high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging satellite Gaofen-3 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern Shanxi Province.

122.  Mr. Dinesh Kumar Khara has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of SBI.

123.  Rajeev Krishnan has been appointed as the Managing Director of Max Hypermarkets in India.  He succeeds Viney Singh.

124.  In the latest MRF player Rankings for Test Bowlers, England Speedster James Anderson has topped the list.

125.  Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors has unanimously re-elected Takehiko Nakao as President of ADB for a further 5 years.

126.  The Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved appointments of four GMs as Executive Directors in various banks. The appointment includes- Mr. Ashok Kumar Garg, Mr. Raj Kamal Verma, Gopal Murli Bhagat, and Himanshu Joshi as the ED of Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Corporation Bank, and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

127.  Popular southern actress Jyothi Lakshmi has passed away at age 63.

128.  Veteran film producer, script, lyricist and screenplay writer of Tamil cinema Mr. Panchu Arunachalam has passed away following a brief illness.

129.  Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar are the only two billionaires from India in Forbes' list of the world's 100 richest people in technology. The '100 Richest Tech Billionaires in The World 2016' list has been topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

130.  The Union Cabinet given its ex-post facto approval for amendments to Section 44 and consequential amendments of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 by introducing the Lokpal and Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Parliament.

131.  The Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and South Africa for cooperation in the field of Tourism.

132.  The Union Cabinet approved for signing and ratification of an Agreement between India and Croatia on Economic Cooperation.

133.  The Cabinet approved the amendments which have been made into the Maternity Benefits Act to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

134.  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched a data bank Portal of micro, small and medium enterprises, MSME in New Delhi.  The portal aims to gather information about micro, small and medium enterprises.

135.  Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has constituted a new committee to "review" the existing media policy for communicating the activities of the board and the income tax department to the public.  This will be headed by Mr. Gopal Mukherjee.

136.  IRCTC has signed a MoU with Defence Food Research Laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for Transfer of Technology of Retort Pouch Processed Foods so that ready-to-eat food can be warmed and eaten straight out of the packet.

137.  Madhya Pradesh and the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry have signed the MoU with the Ministry of Power to join the Ujwal Discom Assurance scheme. With this, the total number of states and union territories who are a part of UDAY has risen to 16.

138.  Bill Maris, the chief executive, and founder of Alphabet Inc's, venture capital arm of GV, is leaving the company.  He will be replaced by GV managing partner David Krane.

139.  Ikea, a global leader in retail furniture, has laid the foundation for its first store in India in Hyderabad.

140.  Tech giant Intel has acquired California-based deep learning startup Nervana Systems allowing the chip maker to foray into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

141.  Power plant equipment manufacturer, Bharat Heavy Electricals limited (BHEL) has appointed Akhil Joshi as the Director (Power).

142.  ITC’s leading health & hygiene brand, Savlon, has announced the name of ace shuttler- Saina Nehwal as its brand ambassador.

143.  Microsoft has announced the appointment of Sriram Rajamani as new managing director of its India lab.

144.  A first-of-its-kind touch and feel garden for the visually impaired people in the country was inaugurated near Calicut University campus by Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan.

145.  The Reserve Bank will transfer to the central government its surplus profit of Rs. 65,876 crores which is marginally lower than the amount given last year.

146.  President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to set up six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in places like Jammu, Tirupati, Palakkad (Kerala), Goa, Dharward (Karnataka) and Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and also passed a law regarding the same.

147.  Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal has inaugurated city’s first Sewa Kendra at Ladhewali today where people will be able to avail services under one roof.

148.  Assam has become the first state to ratify the Goods and Services Tax Constitutional Amendment Bill.

149.  A 12-day long Krishna Pushkar festival held in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The festival comes once in every 12 years.

150.  National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 26.06 crore to the Punjab government.

151.  Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) has inaugurated the country's first facility to produce nickel, a metal for which the country is completely dependent on imports.  The new facility - Nickel, Copper, and Acid Recovery Plant is located at the company's Indian Copper Complex (ICC) at Ghatshila in Jharkhand.

152.  The private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) has announced the availability of Flipkart’s mobile site in its mobile banking app to gives the customer a secure in-app shopping environment.

153.  Birender Singh Yadav has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the West Africa’s Republic of Ghana. He will succeed K. Jeeva Sagar in Ghana.

154.  Apple Inc has rehired Flipboard Co-founder Evan Doll to work on health-related software after he quit Apple to found the digital news magazine app Flipboard.

155.  Michael Phelps won the gold medal in the 200m individual medley to become only the third athlete to win an individual Gold in the same event at four Olympics.

156.  Ending a 92-year-old tradition which started during the colonial era, Railway Budget will be merged with the General Budget from 2017-18 onwards. 

157.  The Centre has constituted the National Committee on Trade Facilitation following India’s ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in April.

158.  National Association of Software and Services (Nasscom) has launched operations of its startup warehouse at Sunrise Startup Village at Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam, AP.

159.  Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda has inaugurated an AMRIT pharmacy at the city-based Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi. The new AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment) Pharmacy, the 10th such in the country, will sell drugs at highly discounted rates.

160.  Rajasthan government led by Vasundhara Raje has signed a MoU with India Trade And Exhibition Centre (ITEC), Dubai for the promotion of skill development, investment and tourism sectors.

161.  Sri Lanka and China have signed a tripartite agreement to proceed with the construction of a Financial City Center in capital Colombo.

162.  Manipal Technologies Ltd (MTL), which is a secure print solutions organization has announced that it has acquired CrossFraud - an advanced fraud detection and anti-money laundering solution.

163.  Syndicate Bank has launched a program called "Project Ananya" that focuses on improved customer service and offering the latest in digital banking services.  This will upgrade the products, services and digital channels of the Bank to cater to the fast changing customer needs.

164.  The Country's largest public sector lender State bank of India and Korea Development Bank have signed a MoU to enhance business synergies.

165.  Former Odisha chief secretary Sudhanshu Bhushan Mishra has passed away in Bhubaneswar.

166.  Indian's multinational pharmaceutical company Cipla Limited has appointed Umang Vohra as the managing director (MD) & global chief executive officer (CEO) of the company.

167.  The Ministry of Law and Justice has notified the appointment of Justice Manjula Chellur as the next Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. She replaces CJ Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela.

168.  Gautam Eknath Thakur has been elected Chairman of the leading co- operative banker, Saraswat Bank.

169.  Lionel Messi has announced that he will play on for Argentina, reversing his decision in June to retire from international soccer.

170.  Ethiopian runner Almaz Ayana ran 10,000 metres in 29:17.45 minutes, to set a new world record and win the gold medal at the Rio Olympics.

171.  Kotak Mahindra Bank has started an 'Innovation Lab' in Bengaluru to tap into the best technology that impacts its operations, and is open to investing in startups.

172.  The government has ambitious plan to lay 6,900 km of gas pipelines linking Bangladesh, Myanmar, most north-eastern states, and West Bengal.

173.  Fifth Generation Technologies has entered an agreement with Anna University, Chennai, for conducting research to arrive at a useful prediction of the remaining life of critical equipment that are working in high temperature environments.

174.  Na Muthukumar passed away in Chennai at the age of 41 years.

175.  Former DMK Minister S.P Sarguna Pandian, who began her political career as a platform speaker, died. She was 75 years old.

176.  Pramukh Swami, the 95-year-old founder of Akshardham temples and a saint of the Swaminarayan sect, passed away after prolonged illness at the Sarangpur temple.

177.  Simone Manuel anchored the U.S. women's 4x100 metres medley relay team to the 1,000th gold medal in her country's summer Olympic history, and the second of her career.

178.  Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in West Bengal, which is a scheme to provide clean cooking fuel to the women belonging to the 'Below Poverty Line' (BPL) households across the country.

179.  Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has bagged the 5 Medals for Young Scientists award 2016. The winners from IISc this year are: Prabeer Barpanda, Sai Siva Gorthi, Praveen Kumar, Anshu Pandey and Chandan Saha.

180.  Bollywood star actors Sonam Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui bagged the best actress and best actor awards at the Indian Film Festival (IFF) of Melbourne 2016.

Award winners are:

1.Best Actor (Male) – Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Raman Raghav

2.Best Actor (Female) – Sonam Kapoor for Neerja

3.Best Film Award – Kapoor & Sons

4.Best Indie Film – Thithi

5.Best Director – Shakun Batra

6.Indian Film Festival Excellence in Cinema Award (lifetime achievement award) – Rishi Kapoor.

181.  Kochi Based leading private sector Lender South Indian Bank, leading private sector bank, and SBI Card, one of India's leading Credit Card issuers, announced the launch of co-branded credit cards for the customers of South Indian Bank.

182.  National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) ties up with Union Bank of India to launch an USSD based *99# mobile application for their customers.

183.  IRDAI has imposed Rs. 35 lakh fine on Bharti AXA General Insurance Co Ltd for violation of various norms including outsourcing activities and corporate governance guidelines.

184.  Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti has jointly launched 'Smart Ganga City' programme in 10 cities located along Ganga to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and improve drainage network there on hybrid annuity mode on public private partnership basis.

185.  Microsoft has acquired Beam, an interactive livestreaming startup that lets viewers watch and play along with game streamers in real time.

186.  India squash queen Dipika Pallikal won the Australian Open squash title by beating Mayar Hany of Egypt by 0-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4.

187.  The Bihar state assembly has unanimously passed the crucial Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST Bill). With this, it has become the first non-Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to ratify the GST.

188.  Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa has announced Rs 1,000 increase in the freedom fighters pension from Rs 11,000.

189.  Odia language will be used as the official language in all government offices in Odisha.

190.  India has provided One million US Dollars grant to Zimbabwe in the wake of El Nino induced drought disaster.

191.  New India Assurance Co and India nuclear insurance pool (INIP) will issue the policy and administer the claims on behalf of the pool.  INIP is the 27th global nuclear insurance pool which was launched by General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), in association with non-life.

192.  Central Leather Research Institute's (CLRI) Principal Scientist P Shanmugam has bagged the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award for meritorious services in the Higher Education Department of Tamil Nadu (TN).

193.  India climbed 15 spots, from 81 to 66 in the Global Innovation Index (GII), while Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America and Finland have been placed as the top 5 in the index.

194.  Tata AutoComp Systems, the Tata Group-owned auto-component conglomerate, will acquire TitanX, a leading global engine cooling supplier.

195.  China successfully launched the world's first quantum satellite which boasts of establishing hack-proof communications between space and the ground as it is equipped with security features to prevent wiretapping and intercepts.  The satellite nicknamed "Micius" was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.

196.  Auto component maker Spark Minda group flagship firm, Minda Corporation Ltd has formed a joint venture (JV) with China's Shandong Beiqi Hai Hua Automobile Parts Co (SBHAP).  The 50:50 joint venture, to be known as Minda China Plastic Solutions Ltd.

197.  Charti Lal Goel, the first speaker of the Delhi Assembly has passed away after prolonged illness.

198.  Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has won gold in the 100-metre final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

199.  Jharkhand Assembly has been convened to ratify Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill passed by both Houses of Parliament.

200.  Banwarilal Purohit has replaced Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya as the Governor of Assam.