Current Affairs - August 12, 2017 Current Affairs

The International Youth Day (IYD) is observed every year on August 12 to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. The 2017 theme is "Youth Building Peace", which recognizes the contributions of young people to preventing conflict, supporting inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace.

The Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu starrer 'Pink' was named the Best Film at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2017. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is the biggest Indian film festival outside of the Indian soil, and is an official film festival supposed by the Victoria Government in Australia.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, has launched a nationwide campaign "Gaj Yatra" in New Delhi to protect elephants on the occasion of World Elephant Day (WED). The campaign is planned to cover 12 elephant range states.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which was already passed by Lok Sabha (On July 24, 2017) and it replaces the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, that was passed in May 2017.

Odisha Chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched Facebook's programme named 'She Means Business' for women entrepreneurs in Odisha. This programme was launched in partnership with Odisha's MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) department and Project Mission Shakti. Under this programme, around 25,000 women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Group (SHG) members will get trained on digital marketing (online bussiness) skills within next one year.

Prasoon Joshi, the famous lyricist, has been appointment as the new chief of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for a period of three years. He succeeded Pahlaj Nihalani, who has been accused of autocratic conduct and of morally policing films. Joshi is known for putting forth his opinion on contemporary issues. He became more prominent after penning songs for films like Fanaa, Rang De Basanti, Black, Delhi 6 and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He twice won the National Award for Best Lyricist - first in 2008 for 'Maa' (Taare Zameen Par) and then in 2013 for 'Bolo Na' in Chittagong.

Milkha Singh, the legendary athlete, has been appointed as the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for physical activity in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR). As goodwill ambassador, he will promote WHO SEAR's Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) prevention and control action plan which seeks to reduce the level of insufficient physical activity by 10% and NCDs by 25% by 2025. Milkha Singh, also known as 'the Flying Sikh', is a Padma Shri awardee and had won medals in athletics in Commonwealth and Asian games.

State-run Canara Bank unveiled two new digital services for online payments. Bharat QR (Quick Response) is for payment settlement at merchant locations and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an integrated bill payment system for net banking customers. The first service is a mobile application, which enables a merchant to accept payments as settlement for sale of goods or services.

India and US will be co-hosting the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) at Hyderabad from 28-30 November, 2017. The Summit is a unique opportunity for bringing together entrepreneurs and start ups with global leaders.

MALABAR Gold & Diamonds, one of the Big 5 jewelry retailers received the 'Retail Jeweler India Award' for the special contributions to the gem and jewellery industry. Malabar Gold & Diamonds has also awarded the best television campaign award for the current year. The Retail Jeweler India magazine, with the mission to take the $30 billion Retail Jewelery industry forward by creating a platform for recognizing the best work of the industry in fields of design, retail and marketing.

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) honoured Roda Mehta with this year's AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award. This Award is the highest honour given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the Advertising Industry. Roda Mehta is a pioneer in more ways than one. This Award is well-deserved recognition for the stellar leadership she provided our industry and our eco-system for over two decades, during which time she also nurtured a whole generation of professional talent.

BitBay, one of the top ten cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, has launched a dedicated platform for trade and exchange of digital currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, ether, Lisk, monero, dash and gamecredits. BitBay claims to be the only exchange in India that provides trade and exchange of multiple cryptocurrencies, high level security standards, including a "cold wallets" policy and two-factor authentication solutions.