Current Affairs - August 23, 2017 Current Affairs

Qatar will build a stadium shaped like an Arabian cap for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This symbolic design embodies everything that unites us as Arabs and Muslims, and is a fitting tribute to the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East. Qatar is building at least eight air-conditioned stadiums for the tournament.

According to the Forbes List, From India, Shahrukh Khan is the highest paid actor (Rank 8) followed by Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg is Hollywood's highest-paid leading man, earning $68 million pretax in 12 month scoring period.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to 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. NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission is among one of the flagship programs of the Government of India to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country to set up the Atal Tinkering Labs across the country.

Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Cycle Computing on 21st of August 2017. It will help it easier for Azure customers to use High Performance Computing (HPC) and other Big Computing capabilities in the cloud and help them accelerate their movement to the cloud. Cycle Computing makes optimizing Hybrid HPC workloads easier and the process of bursting or migrating HPC clusters to the cloud more productive. It offers tools that help companies orchestrate and manage large scale compute jobs across hybrid environments.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) signed a Letter of intent (LoI) with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The LoI signed on the sidelines of ongoing ITU-TRAI Asia-Pacific Regulators' Roundtable jointly organized by the International Telecom Union (ITU).

N B Gupta has been appointed by Government of India as Director (Finance), Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) for a period of five years or date of his superannuation whichever is earlier. Mr Gupta has assumed the charge of 'Director (Finance)' in PFC w.e.f. August 18, 2017. He has more than 30 years of experience in Power Sector and carries with him rich experience in the fields of Fund raising, International Finance, Internal Audit and Accounts Finalization etc.

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) launches door step enrolment facility with Common Services Centers (CSCs) in the national capital for the elderly, patients and others who cannot travel the Aadhar centers. A mobile van in partnership with CSC India will go and enroll people who are unable to travel to Aadhaar centers for enrollment like elderlies, patients, small children.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue Rs 200 notes that will ease pressure on lower-denomination currency bills. The exercise of printing Rs 200 denomination notes is being undertaken to further improve the current situation in the country.

Ms. Khushbir Kaur was coferred for the Arjuna Awards 2017. Arjuna Award is given for consistency outstanding performance for four years. National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.

The seventeenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) held in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister Arun Jaitley. FSDC is a super regulatory body for regulating financial sector which is a vital for bringing healthy and efficient financial system in the economy. The meeting was attended by RBI Governor Dr. Urjit R. Patel, SEBI chairman, IRDA Chairman along with heads and other senior officers of the Government.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I and B) constituted a 40-member 'Preview committee' for the International Film Festival of India 2017. The I and B Ministry constituted a new 13-member steering committee and a 12-member technical committee headed by Jahnu Barua and Nagesh Kukunoor respectively. International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is scheduled to be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2017.

The 10th round of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement between India and Canada started in New Delhi. The negotiations for the agreement, officially dubbed as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), were launched in November 2010 to boost bilateral trade and investments. The proposed pact seeks to eliminate or reduce duties on goods, open services sector and facilitate investment proposals.

ShriDharmendra Kumar, IPS appointed as the Director General, Railway Protection Force, Railway Board. Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG. Kumar is a 1984 batch IPS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre. Before being appointed Additional Director General (ADG), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF, Kumar was serving as Special Commissioner (Special Unit) in the Delhi Police.

The Union Government announced National Sports Awards every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports in India. The Dronacharya Awards 2017 are won by Mr. Brij Bhushan Mohanty - Boxing (Lifetime). Dronacharya Award for coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious International sports events.

Ajay Vipin Nanavati was today appointed as the chairman of Syndicate Bank. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as Non-Official Director/Non-Executive Chairman in Syndicate Bank for three years, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.